Sweet Chestnut

Hull Council has been planting replacement trees in recent years and a favourite of whoever is in charge seems to be the Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa). At this time of the year it is in full (and I do mean full) bloom. The trees are covered in hundreds of spiky flowers. The bees love them. They do however have a peculiar but not unpleasant scent which some say smells like semen! I haven't noticed any fruits in the autumn as yet but with global warming no doubt folk will gathering up the nuts for roasting. Sweet chestnuts are supposed to be long living; up to 2 or 3,000 years, so these could be the Council's best investment to date. This plant is not any relative of the Horse Chestnut which I posted earlier this year; eating conkers is definitely not recommended.

The corner shop

This shop replaced an older shop about ten years or so ago and has a number of franchises running it. The current lot took over this Summer and immediately put up the price of everything an cut the range of goods on offer. So I don't go there as often ususally to take money out of the ATM now Lloyds have shut the local bank across the road. It's cheaper in Tesco and Sainsburys which I never would have believed. Until I took photo this I hadn't realised quite how many bollards surround the place, security to prevent ram-raiding which seems to be out of fashion these days.

Fruits of the forest

According to those that know about these things this yellow fungus is not only edible but quite possibly tastes like chicken. I'll take their word for it. It looks like someone or something has taken a bite out of it already. This is Laetiporus sulphureus or chicken of the woods and this specimen is on that well known forest glade known as Fairfax Avenue.

Fairfax Avenue

Fairfax Avenue is a residential road that runs from a roundabout on Cottingham Road to a junction with Bricknell Avenue. I guess most of it dates from the 1930's when land round here must have been cheap judging by the space given over to the wide grass verges which are protected from parking by regular wooden posts. It is, you might say, a typical surburban street lined with typical semi-detached houses and you might expect it to be a bit uninteresting, bordering on the boring. Well maybe; except in Winter time when the silver birches are as you see or in Spring when the blossom is simply stunning and sometimes in Autumn when the leaves turn and do that colour trick that trees do so well. So that only leaves Summer; now it can be "rather dull, unfunny and suburban" in Summer I will admit. 

The weekend in Black and White is here.