Morning after the night before

Balloons

I spotted this in early December, but thought it might be a good picture to reflect the hangovers many people will have today.

I presume the balloons had been used in some celebration in or outside the flats which are just visible beyond the old warehouse in the picture above.

That picture has (obviously) been subjected to more elaborate processing than is usual with those posted to this blog.

Balloons

Gorse flowering in December

Gorse flowering in December

“When gorse is out of blossom, kissing’s out of fashion” – in the Wikipedia wording of the old saw. This gorse was flowering earlier this month next to Chillington wharf (yesterday’s post).

Chillington wharf and crane

Chillington wharf

By the Birmingham canal near where it runs under Bilston Road. Formerly a lively point of trans-shipment of goods between rail and canal, this site is now owned by the German railway (DB), who don’t seem to be making any use of it.

Old crane, Chillington wharf

Deliquescing inkcaps

Deliquescing inkcaps

Inkcaps are a group of fungi species which spread their spores by means of the caps disintegrating into a black gungy mess. These pictures illustrate successive stages of this process in one common inkcap species.

Deliquescing inkcaps

Deliquescing inkcaps

Deliquescing inkcaps

Cracking bolete

Cracking bolete

A series of views of several individuals of this cracking bolete – there are various different species, so I’m not sure precisely what kind these were.

Cracking bolete

They were growing on a high grassy bank by Wolverhampton ring road, just round the corner from some of the catkins in the previous post.

Cracking bolete

Cracking bolete

Cracking bolete

Cracking bolete

Cracking bolete

Catkins, Silk tassel bush plant

Silk tassel bush catkins

More formally known as Garrya elliptica. The first picture is of catkins on a bush in a private garden. The others are from a bush beside a gated entrance of the University on Wulfruna Street.

Silk tassel bush catkins

Silk tassel bush catkins