It has been raining pine cones near Abingdon Library. The cones are scattered near the base of a neighbouring tree, while others have rolled into the road.

Some have rolled or been kicked down the underpass.

The winged seeds beneath the scales are released when conditions are right. If a cone falls before all its seeds have been released, it can continue opening and shedding seeds on the ground. This evening it began to rain. I remembered from school days that pine cones open when they are dry and close when they are damp. The cones had not closed yet.

There is not much chance, however, for any seeds from the cones that rolled down the underpass. But stranger things have happened. Somebody may pick one up, shake out the seeds and plant them.

This mature pine leans a branch above the traffic of the A415.

At first glance it appears precarious — as though the next named storm might bring it down. But a look back at Google Street View from June 2008 shows the tree had this shape nearly two decades ago.

Pines often grow into wind-shaped forms, but in this case the outline may owe more to the gradual loss of other branches over the years. What remains is an ivy-clad trunk and a strong side-leaning branch.

In Albert Park, among other leaning pines, it would not catch the eye. Here, however, it is quite a feature leaning above a busy road.

New trees have been plated along the grass verges at the top end of Appleford Drive in Abingdon.  Each tree is tied and protected with a wire cage.

This planting was done by Oxfordshire County Council as part of a wider tree-planting programme, which aims to increase the number of trees to help both with climate change and make streets more pleasant.

The council’s Tree Policy aims to get ‘the right tree in the right place’. Grass verges have limited space, possible underground services, parked cars, pedestrian use, and there is a need to keep sightlines. Young trees can also suffer deliberate or accidental damage in their early years.

Some of the newly planted trees are labelled. One that is already familiar locally is sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), well known in Abingdon town centre for its autumn colour. Other labelled species include field maple (Acer campestre), plum-leaf hawthorn (Crataegus × persimilis ‘Splendens’), tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), silver lime (Tilia tomentosa ‘Brabant’), and Italian alder (Alnus cordata).

Appleford Drive has some much larger trees which could have been there before the housing.