Hornbeams and Herons in Autumn Sunshine

It's beautiful out there today, sunny and still with a wee chill in the air, a perfect autumn day for a walk through the Dells along the Water of Leith.

This is the time of year when the hornbeam trees are at their best, specially when the sun is shining on them

Hornbeams, so called because of their hard wood, aren't native to Scotland, naturally they're only found in the UK in the south of England. They were planted in the Dells back in the days when the river was lined by water mills producing products from bank notes to linoleum. The wood of the hornbeams was used in the construction of mill wheels and other working parts.

The autumn colours are spreading throughout the Dells

I was taken by surprise by this grey heron as it took off from a bridge very close behind me and then landed in the river for me to take this photo. The water is pretty high at the moment as it's been raining a lot

the sky today is pretty clear though there were some clouds earlier on,

these clouds don't seem to be promising rain but we've had a fair amount of unexpected rain recently.