Early December in a suburban garden

Image: © Philip Talmage Taken: 5 Dec 2005

My own back garden. It's a fairly large 1930s semi. The speculative builders simply bought a field, ran a road down the middle, and built houses either side. The gardens terminated at the edge of the field, which at this point coincided with a minor stream, the Chaffinch (now below ground). It also meant that they were pretty long, as well as wide - since the houses had garages and side entrances at the side. The oak trees would have been little more than saplings when the house was built. The tree on the left will soon lose its leaves, but the leaves of the tree on the right will stay until pushed off by the spring's new growth. The animal track in the lawn (centre right, leading towards the pampas grass) is part of the local foxes' regular route in search of scraps.

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