There and Back

We have not visited Minsmere for quite a long period, so today a visit is planned! Not the most successful day as far as photographs are concerned, but very enjoyable. It's a great place just to stroll You can't help but see something. This Swallow was sitting on a direction post to a hide, which I thought was rather funny. After all, if you were in the hide you couldn't see him! Some great Parasol fungi to be seen - I loved the overhead view of this one because of its patterns.  And how about this for camouflage! very difficult to spot as it alighted onto the path. It is a Grayling butterfly. Widespread on coast of Britain and Ireland and on heathland in southern Britain. Rests with wings closed. Underwing mottled-brown. Appears larger in flight when pale yellow-orange bands can be seen.  Cryptic colouring provides the Grayling with excellent camouflage, making it difficult to see when at rest on bare ground, tree trunks, or stones. Th

Friday started dull and misty (again) despite a forecast of sunshine, so we delayed going out until 10:30 when we headed for the Forest of Dean. Had a bit of a wander along the Sculpture trail before heading to Beechenhurst Lodge for lunch and a coffee. Beechenhurst Lodge (formerly the site of Speech House Colliery, closed around 1906) is now the ideal base for a family day out, the sculpture trail being only of many family orientated activities you can pursue from here. Very difficult to visualise the area once being an active coal area. Freckled Dapperling (Lepiota aspera) We had hoped to see more fungi in the forest as well as more Autumn colours, so it was a bit disappointing to find almost no fungi, apart from this one. As for autumn colours, they were not as apparent as at home. Dor beetle (Geotrupes vernalis) spotted by Rosey. It is a beetle neither of us had photographed before.  Since 1984 The Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust has raised funds t

We visited here while based in a log cabin in Sherwood. We were mainly looking for different fungi on this trip, so this visit combined an historic site, with some fungi hunting. The former Augustinian abbey once belonged to Lord Byron and now has a Mixed Style romantic nineteenth century garden. The priory of St. Mary of Newstead, a house of Augustinian Canons, was founded by King Henry II of England about the year 1170, as one of many penances he paid following the murder of Thomas Becket. Contrary to its current name, Newstead was never an abbey: it was a priory. In the late 13th century, the priory was rebuilt and extended. It was extended again in the 15th-century, when the Dorter (A bedroom or dormitory, especially in a monastery.), Great Hall and Prior's Lodgings were added. The priory was designed to be home to at least 13 monks, although there appears to have been only 12 (including the Prior) at the time of the dissolution. The Valor Ecclesiasticus o

There is a certain appeal in woodlands this time of year, as the forest floor hides many fungi. With this in mind, we booked into a Cabin, not too far from Sherwood Forest. We saw many fungi, and below are just a few of them. Our cabin nestling among the trees  Dusky puffball (Lycoperdon nigrescens)  Blackening Waxcap (Hygrocybe cornica  Web Cap (Cortinarius varius)  The interior of the cabin where we stayed. The site was a pleasant one, and the cabin spacious but above all the hot tub!  Leopard Earthball (Sclceroderma areolatum) A tree stump that looked amazingly like the head of a dog.  Just liked the shapes of the trees and the light on the forest floor. Home

We expect to have January as a cold, sometimes snowy, month. There are things to photograph which are interesting, and often just eye catching, such as these cobwebs in fences and railings.  Cobwebs adorn the railings and nearby fences  The first showing of snowdrops on the roadside  Believe it or not, these Velvet Shank Fungi (Flammulina velutipes), spotted on a nearby tree.  And an image of a tree in the mist. First image in the mist, second one on a sunny day with a NIk Effex filter applied.  Home      Forward       Back

Autumn can be a beautiful month but also damp and misty. Summer trying to hold on it seems! This year there were quite a few misty mornings and a chance for some atmospheric shots, with a few shots of other Autumn regulars such as fungi and spiders webs. Firstly, some images on the River Brett, near to where I live. Navigating a barbed wire gate (carefully) I was rewarded with these beautiful views. On the other side of the river, the sheep wondered what I was doing.  Pylons across the valley took time to emerge from the mist. Even the runners in the Hadleigh Road Race were soon swallowed into the mist. Lonesome - after the mist cleared. The lanes that I walk on a regular basis, are really lovely this time of year. Cobweb made more visible by the mist residue on it. Rosy Earthstar (Geastrum rufescens) is a species of fungus in the family Geastraceae. It was first described scientifically by Christian Hend