A Fruitful Time

       After the endless heat of July and August, the wood is sighing with relief and now showing the signs of Autumn. Some trees have shed many of their leaves as a response to the dry conditions and others are looking very tatty after suffering the impact of heat stress. Its a quiet time for birds as most go into moult and remain pretty much out of sight. Butterflies and other insects are also harder to find with many of the nectar bearing flowers well over their best. A few of the Scabious along the top ride are still flowering and attracting bees and hoverflies. Speckled Wood butterflies have a long flight period. They can be on the wing through October and are one of the only species now gracing the wood. They are lovers of shaded clearings, where the males frequently get into battle over the few sunny spots beneath the canopy. 

      It is early days for finding fungi but perhaps the extreme heat and now good rains will make it a bumper year. I did find the first of what I hope will be many edible fungi, a single Boletus badius, but hardly enough to flavour an omelette. In a good year we can find lots and dry them to store and use. I did however find a monster fungus of a species I have not seen before. It was growing from the rotting stump of a pine tree near our cabin. I later identified it, from its size and orange outer ring,  as a Conifer Mazegill, Gloeophyllum sepiarium, a first for me. The largest of the individual fungi measured 11" across at its widest part - some beast !

     The Rowan are laden with berries now as are the Guelder Rose, and the chestnuts are getting bigger. Autumn is on the way, that is clear.

Hoverfly species on Scabius flower

A Speckled Wood sunning itself in a clearing

                                                                The edible Boletus badius

Chestnut fruits

Rowan berries

    The Conifer mazegill

The bright red berries of Guelder Rose