After very heavy overnight rain on Sunday 1^st October the morning started dull and wet but very humid. The temperature on the Barff at 7.30am was a barmy 17c.

Autumn is here in earnest, spiders are casting webs their all over the place, the lush green ferns that grew to over six feet tall during the summer months are beginning to die back, their leaves shrivelling up to just a fine golden brown skeleton, nettles are beginning  to fade slightly though can still give you a nasty sting on the back of your hand if you brush up against one.  The farmers were busy this morning harvesting their potatoes. This year's harvest must have been a nightmare for them due to the damp wet weather which has prevented them from lifting their crops on time, let alone carrying out the prep work for the winter.

The Grey Squirrels were extremely active amongst the leaf litter, busily chattering away to each other as they were stashing food for the colder winter months ahead, they have been active in my garden too and I live about a mile and a half away from the Barff.

Having been away on holiday for a several days during the first week in October, it was nice to be back on the Barff with Meg & Gracie. What a difference a few days away from the Barff can make especially at this time of year.

Sunday 8^th was a dull, foggy, and humid morning, it was 16C on the Barff with little breeze, because of yesterday's strong wind the ground was covered in fallen acorns, twigs, and the leaves. The heavy overnight dew has made the ground very wet and slippery underfoot. It was nice to hear the dew drops falling on the tree canopy like rain. Birdsong was notably quiet today, though there were lots of Grey Squirrel’s scurrying about their business. The forecasted wet weather for our area has not yet materialised but my thoughts are with my friends in the Yorkshire Dales, and Scotland who are experiencing heavy rain and flooding at this moment.

It was good to see some movement around the hole in the road at the entrance to the car park this morning, most of the big blue water pipes look to have been fitted finally.

I was on the Barff for 7.00am on Monday 9^th. We had another very heavy overnight dew, it was dark, dull, cloudy, and overcast. One of the highlights was listening to a Tawny owl calling over by the old farm shop.

Wednesday 11^th was a very mild morning again,15c, there was no wind, and it was cloudy and overcast. Due to the humid weather, there has been an abundance of fungi on the Barff, especially the Birch Polypore, Earthballs and Sulphur Tuft. The Autumn colours are becoming stronger every day, ferns that have been prolific throughout the Spring and Summer are dying back and turning a lovely golden bronze colour, beech leaves are beginning to change into their autumnal colours. The acorns are starting to ripen, providing a winter fuel source for the Grey Squirrels, though there does not appear to be an abundance of them this year, the squirrels will have to supplement their winter diet with sweetcorn cobs which are being grown in the field adjoining the woodland.

Thursday 12th October was a much colder morning, temperature on the Barff at 8.00am had dropped to 5C and there was quite a chill in the air, I will soon have to get the winter gloves on.

Friday 13^th was miserable, it was a wet and rainy day, I was late up and did not get on the Barff until 7.30am this morning. The autumn colours looking beautiful despite all the rain. Large clusters of Sulphur tuft fungi were popping up all over the woodland floor, especially on the ancient rotting tree stumps.

I had an early start on Saturday 14^th October, which made up for yesterday's lateness, being on the Barff for 6.15am, it was dark with the sun slowly starting to rise in the east. What a contrast to the wet damp start of yesterday. This morning was bitterly cold, 5c, dry and no breeze. I stopped for a few moments between the old farm shop and car park (which is still closed) to listen to a solitary Tawny owl calling for its mate. Continuing our walk along the perimeter footpath, I stopped to have a look at the ongoing groundwork being carried out on the main road adjacent to the car park, I presume all the pipe work has been completed as they have filled in the large hole in preparation for the top layer of aggregate before being tarmacked.

Sunday 15th October was another early start, it was a bitterly chilly morning with an overnight ground frost, the first of this Autumn, (it did warm up slowly during the morning with sunshine, and by lunch time the thermometer was reading 11c.) The Tawny owl was making quite a commotion as were several Grey Squirrels playing a game of chase with each other, running up and down and around some of the old Beech trees at an alarming speed. Bird song seemed more active than of late, Robin, Wren and Song Thrush were very vocal in several areas of the woodland today.

There is a lot of fungi around on the woodland floor, I have just spotted some Fly Agaric on this morning's walk, it is such a colourful fungus. I have never seen as many Earthballs as there are now, Sulphur Tuft is popping up overnight on anything that is rotten. The Teasels have had a good year, there has been lots of them on the top of the Barff, some reaching heights of over six feet, alas they have all died back having been at their best during the summer months, the seeds of the teasel are very important for birds, such as the goldfinch, which can often be seen feeding on the old, brown flower heads this time of year, 'teasing' the seeds from them.

Wednesday 18^th October was another early start being on the Barff for 6.30am. After a couple of morning of air frosts with the temperature hovering just above freezing, this morning's walk was ridiculously mild at 11C, with a slight breeze. After several weeks of disruption around the car park, the huge hole on the main road adjacent to the car park has finally been tarmacked, some groundwork must be done around the verge before the red protective barriers can be dismantled and traffic lights removed. Bird life was more notable this morning than of late, many of the usual regulars were flitting amongst the trees, including Blackbirds, Robins and Blue Tits, the tiny Wrens were singing their heads off. I am sure I would have hear more had I spent more time in the woodland.

Clumps of Sulphur Tuft, Shaggy Ink Cap and Earthballs continue to flourish on the woodland floor and have been for several weeks now, Birch Polypore and more Fly Agaric fungi are shooting up every day.

Thursday 19^th October was a damp and overcast morning, it was noticeably quiet on the Barff. The weather forecast for the next 24 hours looks quite interesting with a yellow weather warning being issued for Yorkshire and Humberside as ‘Storm Babet’ is set to batter the country today with extremely heavy rain and strong winds. Up in central Scotland the forecasters are predicting as much as eight inches of rain could fall and winds could reach up to seventy miles an hour in that area.

It was good to see that the Barff car park has finally reopened to cars this afternoon.

On Friday 20^th October we had a very wet walk, Storm Babet has arrived on the Barff, bringing with it high winds and heavy rain which battered the woodland, causing some damage to the trees, with twiglets and small branches littering the woodland floor. Autumnal leaves were falling like confetti. The intense winds and persistent rain lasted all day and into the evening, fortunately we have not seen any of the flooding or power cuts that other parts of Yorkshire have had to cope with.

Saturday 21^st October and the rain continuing through Friday evening and finally abated at around 9.00am this morning. Reports in the local papers are saying that we have just had a months’ worth of rainfall in twenty-four hours. Fortunately, apart from yesterday, Storm Babet seems to have passed us by, with minimal damage on or to the surrounding area, unfortunately though, certain parts of the county have not been so lucky and have had to endure significand flooding and disruption especially in West and South Yorkshire.

Tuesday 24^th October. I was on the Barff for 7.00am this morning. It was a very dark with only the light from my headlamp to show the way. We were walking along the top meadow on Tap Hill when I heard a Tawny Owl screeching in the trees in the distance, I got to within 50 yards of where the noise was coming from when the owl turned around to face me, its two bright orange eyes reflecting in my headlamp. Without getting too close and not wanting to disturb it further, I stopped in my tracks and headed off in the opposite direction towards Sherwood’s farm, by the time we had walked down the slope to the outer perimeter footpath there was another Tawny owl adjacent to the farm, making a similar screeching noise. I continued my walk along the perimeter footpath towards the car park.

Friday 27^th was a very foggy, drizzly morning. My headlamp was more of a hinderance this morning as the white light just reflected in my face and the fine drizzle did not improve the visibility either. The rain over the past couple of days has made the woodland floor extremely wet, muddy, and slippery, which after all is to be expected this time of year. It was nice to hear the gently melodic bird song of a Wren and Robin this morning, having a sing off between themselves amongst the trees, only momentarily being disrupted by a squawking Jay.

The last day of the month Tuesday 31^st was another very wet morning, the ground was still saturated, and the smaller tracks around the woodland becoming very wet and muddy. That said the autumn colours are looking beautiful, the Oak leaves are turning a yellow and golden-brown colour, Silver Birch leaves too are similar colour as are the Beach trees. The forestry people have been in amongst the woodland over the past couple of days and felled some random trees, their four wheeled vehicle cutting up the ground quite badly.

Bird song these past few mornings has been noticeably quiet except for the Robin and Wren who between them seem to be able to produce a song every day of the week no matter what the weather.

There have been several highlights for me this month, including bumping into the Tawny Owls on two consecutive mornings was amazing, seeing the variety of Fungi around at this time, the beautiful autumnal colours of the trees especially during the sunshine and finally listening to the Wren and Robin singing their early morning tunes.