I went walking...autumn through my childhood eyes

For those of you old enough to have learnt to read using the Janet and John books "I went walking" was one of the series of these early readers. I still have a copy (my Mum was a teacher) and the illustrations are just so nostalgic for me. I was a 60s something child and they still evoke very fond memories. They really do seem such a long time ago. I appreciate these were originally written many years before I started school but they were in use for many decades in primary schools in England. We also used the Peter and Jane ladybird books. Without sounding like a grumpy old woman there was a definite innocence to childhood then. I secretly think that some children still want this, my own children  loved to read the Enid Blyton stories, going to camp with the brownies/guides/scouts etc.

Yesterday I really did go walking,  looking for the first signs of autumn in my area. I think I will never fully grow up because I still get so much pleasure from nature and it's changing seasons. As I child my brother and I were free to explore and would go off to the local park at this time of year in search of treasure.....aka the first conkers of autumn.

When my children were of primary school age (in the 1990s) as we walked to school in Septembers we always looked out for the first conkers. Even when my son was at secondary school he would come home with trouser pockets full of the first shiny conkers. I often only discovered these when his trousers had already gone through the washing machine!

I noticed some of the trees are developing  their autumn colours.

I also noticed many other signs of autumn including berries, rose hips and holly berries all getting ready to feed the wildlife during the winter.

We have water voles in the river banks of our local park but over the last 27 years I have seen them on only 3 occasions, never when I had my camera. They were keeping very quiet on this day! I would really have loved to have got a snap to show you.

But what I was really looking for were the  Horse Chestnut trees to see if they had begun to drop their treasure.

                      This is a very large horse chestnut which grows near the high street. I noticed in its branches above me lots of conker cases, but they all seemed to be closed tightly shut with no sign of their treasure inside.

I continued on my walk and found lots more trees but all seem to have their conkers tightly shut away. However when I had nearly reached home again I spotted some cases which had begun to split and the shiny conkers inside were beginning to protrude!

And on the floor I had even more luck by finding one of these!

Yes a closed conker case!! Often as a child we would find these early in the season and stamp on them to open them up only to find the conker inside was still white and not quite yet ripe. It was always so disappointing!
I brought the case home and carefully split it open to reveal.................................

Yes...treasure, a beautiful brown shiny conker. I carefully peeled it out of the shell and a single conker was revealed in all its glory...............

I still enjoy finding these so much and guess who else did too.............................................

Yes Billy :0) Cats really are SO inquisitive aren't they?

I hope this may have evoked some fond childhood memories for you. I am looking forward to when the conkers start to rain out of the trees over the next few weeks but there is nothing like finding the first ripe conker of autumn!
Bye for now,
Jane x