Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee,
Whether summer clothe the general earth
With greeness, or the redbreast sit and sing
Betwixt the tufts of snow on the bare branch
Of mossy apple-tree, while the nigh thatch
Smokes in the sun-thaw; whether the eave-drops fall
Heard only in the trances of the blast,
Or if the secret ministry of frost
Shall hang them up in silent icicles,
Quietly shining to the quiet Moon.



Saturday, October 01, 2011

Autumn Mornings


We've been having some really wonderful weather over the last few days and I've been taking B Baggins up onto Blackamoor every morning. Early in the week I was lucky enough to see this stag, he had his little harem with him but they were half hidden in the bracken which is shoulder high now. Of course I only had my small camera with me so it's not a great photo, ever since seeing him I've been taking my Olympus but naturally I haven't seen him again!


This was a real surprise, I certainly wasn't expecting see and catch the scent of honeysuckle flowers in late September.


I've been seeing a lot of fly agaric and some of them have been really big - a good 6 inches in diameter in several cases. These are poisonous mushrooms......


but not to some creatures judging by all the evidence of feasting on many of the ones I see:)


There are still blackberries around but now that Michaelmas Day is behind us they are best left to foxes, birds and mice.


There are quite a lot of different fungi around and I find them fascinating even though I can name very few of them. These were growing on dead wood and I think might be sulphur tuft.


The purple sloes have almost disappeared from the area where they were so abundant a couple of months ago - obviously they have been gathered by people who don't know that they are best picked after they've had a frost on them.


There are a lot of rowan trees up on the moors and the red berries add a lovely splash of colour to the scene especially now that the leaves are beginning to turn as well.


Can you spot B Baggins in this photo? At this time of year he blends into the background so well that he's almost invisible.


This is cowberry which often grows among the bilberry bushes on the moors and they are equally edible. If you click on this photo to enlarge it you will be able to see the heavy morning dew glistening on the leaves and berries.


I'm thinking that this might be a Cep mushroom but I'm not thinking it confidently enough to try eating it!


Ripe elderberries looking really beautiful with the sun shining on them.


I don't have even a guess to offer on this one, if any fungus experts reading and can tell me what this and any of the others are I'd be delighted to hear from you.


I'm wondering whether this is a Shaggy Inkcap?


Now these I do know! The hawthorn trees are absolutely laden with berries this year - a sign of a bad winter to come in old country lore.



There are still plenty of lovely ripe rosehips about. Autumn has so much to offer especially when we get wonderful golden days like these. It's always been my favourite season of the year.


Another of my wild guesses - a yellow russula? There are likely to be quite a lot more fungus photos during October as this is the best month to see them especially if we get some rain. I do keep saying that I hope to post more regularly and it should start happening now. What I'd forgotten is that I would need to put a lot of hours in on the book I'm co-writing about the WW1 soldiers on our local War Memorial. It is just about ready to go to the printers now and they will produce a proof copy and tell us how much it will cost - then we have to persuade our Local History group to pay for it!

18 comments:

Bovey Belle said...

What a lovely post. looks like Yellow Russula and Shaggy Ink Cap tto me. i have a lot of unidentified ones (as yet) from the New Forest to put on my blog, but haven't unloaded them from the camera yet as only got home last night. Will e-mail you . . .

Mac n' Janet said...

Loved your pictures, you are having great weather! How exciting about the book.

Rosie said...

Lovely autumnal photos. That is a shaggy inkcap - we saw one on a walk at Trentham in the week. Not sure about the other one though. Your book sounds really interesting I hope you will be able to produce some to sell for your History group:)

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

Every year I try to identify and remember the names of fungi, then I forget them all before they reappear the next year! Love your photos especially that fine stag.

MorningAJ said...

I went to pick sloes last week (because believe it or not we HAD frost last week!) and they'd mostly dried up. So I'm glad that I gathered some a month ago and stuck them in the freezer. (Cheating, but it worked like a dream with last year's gin.)

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

What a lovely walk - the stag is magnificent. Thanks for sharing.

Wanda..... said...

You seem to know your fungi better than I know mine. B Baggins really does blend in, I really might not have spotted him without your mentioning it or my enlarging the photo. A few Honeysuckle blooms have made an autumn appearance along my field too.

Hollace said...

What a lovely place to walk. I wonder how B Baggins does when he sees a stag--such a large one at that.
Your book project is very exciting and worthy. I hope the families appreciate it.

Louise said...

Lovely photos!

That mushroon is a shaggy inkcap and it's edible in the photo! They're only edible until they start turning grey! I agree about the yellow russula and thought the other one could perhaps be a shaggy parasol, though it doesn't look very shaggy, maybe it's still young and will become more shaggy?! I'm just guessing too!

Good luck with your book :)

Diane said...

Great post Rowan - i love the photos and your book sounds fascinating. xxx

George said...

Lovely photos, Rowan. I always enjoy these nature tours with you and B Baggins, and I always come away with the knowledge of something new.

Mary said...

Good luck with publishing the book - a lot of work I'm sure, but well worth it!

Lovely Autumn landscape images - elderberry being one of my favorite berries - the glossy deep purple color just looks so beautiful in the sunlight. Interesting fungi - we've had a few gigantic toadstools since the recent rains. I'll direct my foxes to your bramble patch!

So glad to see you posting - always miss your great stories and walks when you're busy with life.

Happy Autumn - enjoy October Rowan.
Hugs - Mary

WOL said...

I'm excited that you may be a published author soon. I'm the wrong one to ask about fungi, though. Since we only get 16 inches of rain a year (on average), our fungi population is a very small one, especially since we've been so dry this year. However, when we do have a rainy year, we get the kind that start with a small cluster, then appear in a large ring. Not sure if they're mushrooms or toadstools -- or if there is a difference. What a grand fellow your stag is. I hope B.Baggins is not inclined to chase the deer as that one looks to have a very murderous array of antlers. Are your deer the kind that the males "bugle" challenges at each other during their mating season?

Roy said...

Seeing the Stag, what an amazing privilege Rowan. I think thats an Inkcap.

Thimbleanna said...

Wow -- what beautiful pictures of nature -- now I REALLY want to come to England for a visit. Love that Buck picture!

Gracie said...

Here the summer seems to be unwilling to leave....we have sunny and hot days, the fall colors and smells so far away....

Karen said...

Beautiful pictures. So many mushrooms, I do love finding them, but am not confident enough to identify and eat the edible ones either. A magical moment with the stag!... lovely. :)

Anonymous said...

Hi, so great to hear from you again. I love your last post too, great pictures.
This post is fantastic. This is the reason why I love Autumn so much too !!
Have a wonderful day.