We drove cross-country from Leicestershire into Nottinghamshire one day last week. Once again, it struck me what an under-rated county Leicestershire is. The rolling fields, gentle hills & valleys; the small, unspoilt villages, and the tucked into the scenery farm buildings, all add to its beauty. I lived here for many years, working and bringing up a family, but until we returned in 2011, I am quite sure I did not appreciate our surroundings. Today, I took a picture of the glorious berries right here outside my window and once again I am reminded of the beauty of Autumn in this country.
jeannemx 
Wherever you are in rural England, you are surrounded by natural beauty. And we do need to appreciate it. After a couple of years in Singapore in the 1960s, we were filled with wonder at the scenery of home. That is a beautiful photo, Jeanne.
Thanks for stopping by, Jean, I love the berries of Winter. I’m a bit disappointed as we took a small tree down, to about 4ft, height, in the Spring and I planted a pyracanth to climb up it, it hasn’t got one single berry on it even though it looks very healthy. I’m wondering if this is because it is its first Autumn.
My goodness – I don’t recall ever having seen such an abundance of berries. What a beautiful photograph. It looks as if you’ve caught the light at exactly the right time.
Thanks, Patricia, yes they are rather beautiful – and not being eaten which seems strange. Maybe, like Ann says, the UK is in for a bad Winter.
You are right to say we just don’t appreciate our country anywhere near enough. There is such diversity and every place changes with the seasons and the different moods of weather so we should never become bored with it. This year does seem to be exceptional as far as berries are concerned. People used to say it signified a bad winter ahead but in reality it more likely reflects the conditions of the summer past. Whatever, the birds and other wildlife are going to have a feast this winter.
Thanks for stopping by, Ann, looking at the long term weather forecast the old berry prediction might well be true. The strange thing is, I see very few birds eating all these lovely berries we have around the garden, just the odd wood pigeon every now and then. I did wonder if grey squirrels eat them, we have them, daily, chattering away up the large old oak at the end of the garden. I didn’t realise they could make so much noise.
I think when it is such an abundant crop of berries the birds tend to be finding enough out in open countryside. They only come into the gardens to feed when the weather becomes more challenging. Not all garden berries are eaten by birds or wildlife in general in any case as some do not suit. Oddly the red pyrocanthus berries they will eat but if you have an orange berried plant they ignore them. We only notice our garden bushes being stripped into January or February.