Now with new improved Fizz.
By the time Fizz and I got out yesterday it was getting dark and there was no chance of getting any decent pictures. This morning it seemed a bit brighter and we decided to have another try.
This fog was to the South and on the hills. First we are heading North to Badger Alley, it is not so bad there.
Yesterday I found some more Oysterlings and I want a chance to photograph them.
I have heard Oysterlings described as the most photogenic of fungi and I didn’t think that when I found them growing on slimy green vegetation.
These look quite a bit nicer. These mushrooms have got legs, there are lots of little ones still to come so I shall be back to visit these again soon.
So that is the Oysterlings. Next….
Don’t eat yellow snow!
Remember our Pear-shaped Puffballs?
I told you that all Puffballs were edible but that you must cut them and make sure that they are pure white inside. I need to show you what I mean.
I am reluctant to take another one of these as I want to watch them mature and decay but this is an important stage in their development. So selecting the biggest one….
This one has started to yellow. You shouldn’t eat them like this.
Now this isn’t where we are going today. Fizz and I are going back up to the Sweet Chestnut Coppice to look at the Honey mushrooms that we saw about two weeks ago. The coppice is up there in the fog.
I have to keep Fizz off the road as much as possible so we are going through the fields. Here are your Fizz shots for today.
I am afraid that I have already got her messed up a bit and she is no longer “fresh back from the cleaners.”
Fizz in Fog.
Eventually we have to take to the road but we have by-passed the narrowest parts.
Once we get up here we are safe and can walk on the grass.
Here is the wood we have come to visit. You can just tell that the light in there is going to be perfect for photography.
This is what I have to put up with every day in England!
I quite like fog it is better than constant rain 🙂
So where did we leave that tree?
So here is our first fungi in the coppice. This is Hairy Curtain Crust, Stereum hirsutum. This grows all over the world and you will find it in Australia and North America. It is very common and we will see a lot more in the next couple of months.
What sort of an idiot are you? Just asking.
Notice that she was on a lead in those last pictures. I have just heard an animal moving about in the woods. We don’t get to see it. It was probably Deer, there are a lot of them around here but there are also Wild Boar and Boar would be dangerous for Fizz. (they might knock her off her log) She is safe so long as she stays close.
My next find is a stinker.
Phallus impudicus, this is a Stinkhorn Fungus and it is living up to it’s name. I don’t often find them with the gleba intact like this (Gleba is the disgusting bit), flies are usually quick to eat that bit but I guess in Winter there are not so many flies around. This specimen has been hanging about for a bit and is truly repulsive.
I want to have a closer look. I am a boy and I like disgusting things 🙂
I need to dig it up and see it’s egg.
Sadly it broke when I lifted it. The stem is very hard and brittle.
Inside the stem is sitting in the egg but does not seem to be attached to it in any way.
Up at the other end the stem didn’t seem to have any attachment to the cap either. The cap just slid off and slimed everywhere and it stank.
Interesting but that’s enough of that.
Let’s move on to the Pigskin Poison Puffball.
These are the decaying remains of the Common Earthball, Scleroderma citrinum.
Quite a few of them had opened like cups and now contain a soup of poisonous spores and rainwater. (I need to photograph all aspects of a fungi’s development.)
Then finally we found our Honey Fungus. That too was decaying.
I was very interested to find that my Honey Fungus, Armillaria ostoyae was itself being attacked by another fungus. This is some kind of parasitic fungi. I don’t expect to be able to get an ID on it but I am trying to find out more as we speak.
One expert has already advised me to collect some in a tupperware container and see what develops. Hmm….. Not sure that I am ready for the responsibility of keeping another pet.
If I find out anything then I shall let you know.
Did I tell you that Winter cut really suits you? You look lovely.
(Ha ha! I remembered to read the back of my hand)
Note to self: Come back and read when not eating lunch which I very nearly lost on the images of the Stinkhorn Fungus. (Burp)
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Thank you Susanne 🙂 It was while I was cutting up that Stinkhorn that I noticed that my knife blade was covered in green slime and Fizz and I hadn’t had our lunch yet! Good job we are not fussy eaters 🙂
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Packed full of interesting and wonderful things as usual. You are right about the fog and light being perfect for photos- makes your forest magical. I am fascinated by the fungus eating another fungus, and I am also fascinated by the egg. I did not know anything grew like that. Thank you for pulling it from the earth and showing photos!
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Thank you Crystal 🙂 Like a nice frost, fog is magical, shame that we can’t have more of it.
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Puffballs sounds like polk salad made out of American polkweed. If the polk is not prepared and cooked correctly, it can poison you.
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Thanks Don 🙂 I have just been reading about Polkweed. Puffballs are one of the safest fungi to eat just because there are no poisonous ones, you just have to check that they are white inside and they are good.
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Fog dog on a log. That’s all I’m good for, I’m afraid. You, sir, however, never fail to entertain. Thanks!
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😀 Ha ha! Thank you Maggie 🙂
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“Get off the log.” :- ) And all those plant mysteries. Fog. Gates. Gates of fog, get off the log. er……okay, well,,,, thank you for this.
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Many thanks Steven 🙂
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Very interesting and informative as always. I’m glad we don’t have stinkavision!
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Thank you Clare 🙂 You could try scratching your screen 🙂
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Hmmmmnn….yes, thanks Colin!! 🙂
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I love fog, so dog in fog is even better
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Thank you Dan 🙂
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Colin, you make fungus sexy. These images are amazing. What a wonderful world we live in.
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Thank you Dorne 🙂 It is a wonderful world.
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We have had those stinky fungus in our yard… bleh! I like the skeleton of the Oak (?) tree in the mist.
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Thank you Joy 🙂 Most of the trees up there are Sweet Chestnut but they are grand mature trees.
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They have lovely, grand, structure.
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Those oysterlings are truly quite pretty in their pattern and shape.
I’m continually amazed at the wide variety of fungi you have in your local woods. Well done for getting them all correctly identified – I’m sure you could write a book on the subject soon.
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Thank you Vicki 🙂 You are too kind.
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loved those spectral trees. That stinkhorn truly was disgusting
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Thanks Maureen 🙂 Those trees are impressive whatever the season and that was the smelliest Stinkhorn that I have ever found 🙂
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No stinky fungus here, and that was…..interesting. The pictures in the fog are beautiful. And Fizz, looking quite striking with her new hairdo! You sure do know your fungus and have so many different varieties there, and you make it always interesting for your readers.
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Thank you Sarasin 🙂 Fizz is an endless source of amusement for me.
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There is beauty in every season, even in dreary and wet November… Thank you for sharing! 🙂
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Thank you Inese 🙂 We are always on the look out for a bit of interesting weather.
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Excellent photography of interesting subjects.
Almost makes me want to move somewhere damp . . . then I remember; damp.
I think I’ll stay put and enjoy from afar.
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Thank you Emilio 🙂 Yes today is damp, a bit like yesterday 🙂
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Lulu enjoys the daily adventures of Fizz and hopes she can be a nature dog if she ever gets to Britain.
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Thank you Andrew 🙂 I see that Lulu is having a hard time of it at the moment and hope everything works out well for you and soon. A dog deserves a little mud now and then.
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So much to see, so little daylight! Love the oak in the fog and of course, the dog on the log 😉 She is such a cute dog and those, “What me?” expressions just melt my heart.
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Thank you Eliza 🙂
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I am about to type words I never thought I’d want to type: “Those fungi are really lovely!” Thank you and Fizz for sharing!
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Thank you Karen 🙂 Fungi are really interesting and sometimes lovely too.
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You have done it again, Colin. (And the canine). I have been keeping an eye out for some good old Aussie fungi but it is too dry at the moment. I might have to go for a drive.
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Thank you John 🙂 Fungi are a bit seasonal though. We didn’t see much at all during our Spring and Summer. They like cold and wet and I don’t suppose that you will be getting much of that in the next few months.
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wonderful gallery
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Thank you Mitza 🙂
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Thank you for all of the glorious photos of fog and rain! As much as I love the desert of New Mexico, USA, 340 days of sun each year can actually be pretty hard to take! : ) And thank you for all of the rich photography and information on the fauna of your country (and Fizz). I learn a lot from your postings!
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Stunning fog and tree photos, we have a light coating of snow here with low grey clouds.
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Thanks for great photos and descriptions. Reminds me of the Seattle area where I grew up.
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Thank you so muc; I almost felt like I too had gone on the walk with you and fizz. (Except I was dry and cozy.) I loved the photographs of the fog. . . do beautiful! Especially the old trees! I am sure the fog gets old, even though it makes for beautiful photos. The fungi are interesting and cool and sometimes beautiful and sometimes kind of ick but very important I know! Nature is always fascinating!
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Eeeeeewwww, your title lives up to its name! Excellent photos, though, especially of the gloomy woods, and I love your descriptions (with the added Fizz commentary). The whole thing just seems to sum up the essence of November!
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I love your walks and your cool photos, especially the fog!
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Corruption and decay indeed! Rotten to the spore, of course we want more~ Oh what damp tramps you lead!
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Fascinating pics! I love the dark misty atmosphere.
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Both repulsive and fascinating! 😉
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Another great woodland hike, and Fizz is looking good like usual. You know, I thought we had lots of fungus here in Vancouver, but you have us beat hands down. Impressive. See you again.
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