A fungus hunt after tea

               

Autumn Colours 

                          One of the great joys of owning a small parcel of woodland is watching the seasons change and the woodland change with them. Another joy is being able to light a fire whenever you need one without worrying about the neighbours' washing, often just for the pleasure of having a fire and watching the smoke curl up into the trees. On wet days the Kelly Kettle is a godsend for boiling water when all the kindling is a bit damp and I do not intend to stay long. My visit this week was not much more than a walk around. On a previous visit I had failed to put away a rather special small axe, which I had used to chop kindling. I had hopes of  finding it safe and sound exactly where I left it. Sadly this was not the case, the axe was gone. The woods are pretty open; we do get people wandering through and have had a number of things taken in the past so my guess is that a person or persons unknown spotted the axe and took it for themselves. It's a shame to have to be so careful but thats how it is.  I ought to have been less careless. I just hope that whoever took it will value it as much as I did.

                As the Autumn has picked up speed, leaves have started to fall and a few fungi are showing themselves now. We have had a long dry spell through September but recent rain has gone some way to improving conditions for them to start appearing in numbers. After a welcome brew I decided to see how many varieties I could find (photos to follow). Many years ago a mycologist surveyed the woods and found an astonishing 40 different species. I am able to name a few species but my own skills at identifying them remain pretty poor......there are, after all, several thousand species. I just enjoy finding them and, when they show themselves, finding  the types that I know to be good eating. In good years we can pick  good numbers of very delicious boletus mushrooms. It remains to be seen if this will be one of those years. I hope so..........

One of the Russula group of fungi, they are known as Brittlegills as they do indeed break very easily

Another Brittlegill

A member of a different large family, the Boletus - slugs have enjoyed this one

I think this is called "the Blusher" its a member of the Aminata family and flushes red when damaged

Lots of these Earth Balls grow in Crow Wood

That Kelly Kettle in action, smoke lit by late afternoon sun.