Still Room for Mushrooms

OH has cracked a rib and is lots of pain.  We were planning a walk up Cadair Idris yesterday, but he was unable to carry his pack, so we had to abort.  Today we managed a short walk in the woods.

At first it seemed that due to our climate there were no mushrooms left to find, but before long brackets of all types seemed to appear.  Then the more we looked, the more we found.  No Jelly Ears, to my disappointment, but a brand new find for me, Elf Cups!
Not sure if they are Scarlet or Ruby, but they are Elf Cups all the same.  The brand new ones were just mm across!  They grow to about a maximum of 7cm when fully expanded.  Just as well they are the colour they are, much easier to spot!  They grow on fallen hardwood and are often surrounded by moss, making them harder to see.

I also found plentiful Birch Polypore, and have learnt that although bitter, it can be brewed into a tea which is very good for the immune system.  I might have to make up a winter brew.  Maybe with some berries added to it for sweetness.

Woodland Revisted

After my Biology exam on Tuesday, I rewarded myself with a walk in the woodland that i so covert.  It is such a beautiful place, there is an old slate quarry with a proper little dingly dell at the foot.  It's such a surreal place, one where I could sit for hours just gazing upon the lichens and moss that grows there.

As yet, I don't know much about moss and lichen, only that lichen is such a complicated symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae!  I am getting pretty good with identification of fungus now, but I don't even know where to start with lichen!  I have invested in a book, but it in itself is very complicated, although supposedly a very good guide!


Here are some of the moss and lichen I found in my little retreat

I also found a wonderful patch of bilberries, which I've already made into Bilberry and Rowan jelly in my master plan for self sufficiency (in my head anyway)!  Once my exams are over, I really must crack on with packing up the house, and preparing it to sell.  My dream will never become a reality if I just sit there in the dell dreaming! And once it has happened, I can sit there all I like!