Reasons to be cheerful, Part B

For this round of Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday, I thought I would take a theme which might loosely be entitled 'Reasons to be Cheerful, Part _', after the 1979 hit single by Ian Dury and the Blockheads (Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3).

J

For everyone, the reasons will be different, but I wanted to search around for some of the things which brighten up my day; things for which I am thankful.

B is for berries.

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Berries may not seem much of a reason to be cheerful, but at this time of year, when the leaves are falling, the flowers dying and the days becoming increasingly short, it is very good to know that the berries will be around for a while.

These bright red berries are on my pyrocantha. I can see them from where I am right now; a welcome splash of colour in an otherwise very grey day! They will continue to be cheerful until the blackbirds have run out of easier food and move in to strip this bare. Then, I will have the pleasure of watching them at work for a few days.

A similar tale here, but this is slightly further away from the house and will show up on the blackbird RADAR a little earlier than the red. Aren't they lovely against the blue sky? (There's another B which is certain to bring cheer!)

The rose hips have replaced blooms on most of the roses and will retain their red for a while yet. There aren't a huge number of these, but every little helps!

And then there are the berries further afield, like these yew berries photographed on a recent walk. Colour to brighten the day.

When the last of the leaves have littered the ground and turned to so much dark brown mush, I will look at these berries and think cheerful thoughts!