A Thief in the Garden

This morning the boys were out and I was preparing vegetables by the kitchen sink when I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. I was expecting to see a cat, but it was a squirrel. These are all the conkers that the boys collected yesterday. They didn't know what to do with them this morning, so they put them on the decking until they found somewhere to put them.
If this little chappy has anything to do with it, there won't be many to find homes for.
I was so pleased that he was still coming back to collect conkers when the boys got home. It was so fascinating to watch him pick up a conker and position it in his mouth until it was comfortable then carry it away. We are waiting in anticipation to see how many conkers will still be there in the morning.

This afternoon we managed to get our walk in the woods. We were joined by a friend and her grandchildren.

We found this bracket fungus. It was shaped a bit like a bowl and was a darker brown on the edges.

We even managed to fill a small tub with blackberries. This year they blackberries are so small, you have to pick so much more to fill the tub. There haven't been many around at all. I should have enough to make a pound or two of jam and a blackberry and apple crumble which will please the boys.

As we were leaving the woods, D found this chrysalis on a sign post. I hope it gets left in peace so it can hatch in due time.