Essence of Autumn ll

Firstly, thank you all so much for your encouragement and your stars for yesterday's entry. You are a great community of people, and I feel so encouraged :-) 
It was half day Friday today, and I went for a quick trip to Itchingfield church to see if there was anything around..however despite the warm weather it was noticeably devoid of insect life. 
As I was leaving I noticed this huge Yew tree with the red fruit literally 'glowing' in the sunshine like rubies, I simply couldn't resist....
The Yew tree  Taxus baccata, is an evergreen native conifer commonly found in churchyards with at least 500 in England boasting at least one tree often older than the church itself.
Yew is amazingly long lived often reaching 400 - 600 years of age with 10 Yew trees in the UK thought to predate the 10th century.
All parts of the Yew are poisonous, containing a toxic cocktail of alkaloids. The exception being  the 'red' fleshy part of the seed or aril. which is a special favourite of Blackbirds, who in return act as an effective seed disperser.
I love Yew trees, and this time of year they really come alive, covered in these beautiful fruits, which look especially beautiful in the sunshine