November

A rainy and breezy month has whipped many of the leaves from the trees with a golden carpet around the hornbeam trees along the dramway path. During one walk I saw several squirrels browsing the leaf litter for hidden food, quite happy for me to stand very still about ten or fifteen feet away, but scurrying for safety up the nearest tree whenever a gust of wind rustled the branches. A buzzard was also heard calling, and subsequently seen flying over the treetops. It was eventually seen off by a couple of angry crows.Several interesting fungi were found around the big field maple growing from the decaying logs stacked there. Seen were ink cap, butter cap, sulphur tuft, turkey tail and candle snuff. Thanks to Alison and Joe for help with identification of these.

Mike.





Ink caps. The caps drip black residue as they age.










Candle snuffs. So called because they look like a black candle wick that has been snuffed out leaving white ash at the top.







Turkey tails. These bracket fungi resemble the pattern displayed on the tails of turkeys.











Butter caps. The yellow centres are said to resemble the colour and texture of butter. They don't remotely resemble the taste though.