Colours and light
Colours and light in nature provide an ever-changing source of inspiration for artists. We discovered the beauty of grasses on this walk near our home in North Devon.
I started out on this walk in a bit of a hurry and chose not to take the camera as I thought it would be inevitable that I would take too long. I had a busy day ahead and couldn’t afford to spend a long time taking photos. Mistake! There is always something beautiful to be found. Fortunately I had my mobile with me, so I was able to record what we saw – although not as well as I’d have liked. The soft, pastel colours of the landscape around us just calmed and soothed the feelings of stress that had been building about the day ahead.
Dartmoor is dark and velvety in the distance. I was talking to my daughter recently about how its hills make us feel protected and secure. It is amazing how nature de-stresses and being outside in the countryside is the best mindfulness exercise there is. The combination of a very pure and soft kind of light, and the pretty shades of pastel colours of the grasses made for a beautiful walk. We climbed over (and squeezed through, in the case of the labrador!) the stile into a meadow which was a sea of buttercups and grasses.
Varieties
Looking more closely, there is such a range of different grasses, all with individual characteristics and wonderful names.
We found Yorkshire fog (in North Devon!), which has a flower heads of soft purple. Seen en masse it creates a haze of purple fog.
Yorkshire fog
Smooth meadow graas
Ribwort plantain
Orchard grass
Creeping soft grass
Orchard grass
Sweet vernal grass
Common soft brome
Additionally, we found sweet vernal grass, which has a sweet scent. Common soft brome is not very exciting at all, but still important that it is there for biodiversity of course. Ribwort plantain is not technically a grass, but it is found in grasslands. It’s seeds provide food for goldfinches.
As a result, I will be taking my camera with me even when I think I may not have much time. I don’t want to miss things! There is even beauty in grass.
For more nature photography (with my camera, not my mobile!) head to my nature photography page. These images are free to download for personal use.
Leave a Reply