Fabulous Fungi

It was forecast that this year's weather pattern, damp with a long hot dry summer, would produce a bumper crop of fungi and how right they were.  I have never seen as many fruiting at the same time and they lined faint paths that run through Angerton Moss, a peatland habitat.

One that is always easy to recognise, Fly Agaric, but these were the biggest I've ever seen they must have measured 8 inches across and looking them up in the fungus guide it says they can grow from 6-20cm so these

must be at their maximum size.

Here is one in decay looking like a mound of couscous,  a small and shiny new one can be seen peeping though under the grass on the left

There were hundreds of these, Collybia cirrhata, which grow out of dead black fungi. They varied in size from little specks to these and also varied in

numbers growing together. Other fungi grew among the grass but I could not identify them

apart from being intrigued by their curious shape, small

and large.

Some looked familiar, this possibly is a species of mycena.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of these crab apples in the water just because they could be like my blog name - a raft of apples (although the title is taken from a poem)

Apples, like the fungi, are having a good year in 2018 although crab apples and the fungi I have photographed are not recommended for eating.   In praise of the crab apple I did once make a rather tasty white wine from them but its tastiness faded with age. Not a wine for laying down in ones imaginary cellar.

Adder on the Move

I was sorry to disturb this adder as I approached it - neither of us had seen each other until the last moment. It lay curled taking in the September sunshine on the warm road and moved very quickly

heading into the undergrowth.  As it turned out it was a serendipitous encounter

Zetor 7711 Turbo Tractor

for moments later a racing cyclist crested the brow of the hill, zoomed past the parked tractor and sped downhill - whoosh he past in moments.
Happily because of our meeting the adder did not end up under the bike wheels but quietly heading for a destination unknown.    

Round 5 - ABC Wednesday - A

A is for Angerton Moss

Part of the Duddon Mosses Nature Reserve, managed by Natural England, designated a Special Area of Conservation.

What of the name? Was it named by Scandinavians or the English, or a mix of the two. Tun in Old Norse is farmstead. and in Old English town. Angr in OE is bay or there is a suggestion it could have been a Scandinavian personal name Arngeirr. Who knows, but it is an area that has changed over many thousands of years.

There are a network of paths into the mosses. At the moment the bracken is as high as an elephants eye, but as I have not seen any in the area, its certainly taller than me. Let me take you over one of the bridges. Dry here
but further in you will find the sphagnum moss
There are lots of trees surrounding the paths, including silver birch and rowan. The berries on the rowan trees in full sun are red, but their shadier companions berries are still yellow, at the moment. The air is fresh and clear and this shrubby lichen (Ramallina farinacea) shows the air quality is good. It was certainly windy at the weekend when I took this.
Now we have reached the boardwalks over the raised mire with rich vegetation growing in the peat. It was a lovely warm day as we walked on the boards.
This was New Year's day which was a beautiful, clear, sunny frosty day (good for clearing the head). At mid day the boardwalk still had a layer of frost.
Here is the bog cotton at its blooming best in May. Now you can see why there are boardwalks. This fluffy plant is always a good sign, wherever you are, that it is probably not a good place to take a walk, and to go round not over. Wonder if anyone has disappeared here, who knows whats down there.
This is an area rich in bird life, and niche and rare flora. There are also lots of invertebrates, especially dragonflies, the four-spotted chaser dragonfly larvae breed in the mosses. As we walked though at the weekend there were lots of butterflies and damselflies but none of the whirling dragonflies. I wonder if some species numbers are down after last years wet summer. Here are a pair who were around in May.

Amble over to Mrs Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday to see the rest of the participants in Round 5.