Categories
David

Brown mushrooms with a crinkle-edged cap

Brown mushrooms with a crinkle-edged cap

These mushrooms (species unidentified) had caps the colour of pale caramel.The caps of the maturer mushrooms had a rim which waved up and down.

Brown mushrooms with a crinkle-edged cap

The younger ones had a domed cap.

Brown mushrooms with a crinkle-edged cap

They were growing on a lawn near West Park, so I couldn’t get nearer for a closer inspection.

Categories
David

Rhododendron flowers, November

November rhododendron flower

Times out of joint once more.

November rhododendron flower

Some of the rhododendron bushes in West Park had flowers out at the end of November – and very nice they were.

November rhododendron flower

Categories
David

Mahonia flowering, late November

Mahonia flowering, late November

One of the mahonia bushes in West Park flowering last week. It still looked the same when I passed the bush again in the freezing cold half an hour ago.

Categories
David

Washed-out verdigris agaric

Washed-out verdigris agaric

Verdigris agaric mushrooms have a greenish colour similar to the coating on weathered copper. By the time I found these, they were getting on a bit, and their colours were washed out.

Washed-out verdigris agaric

They were growing on wood chip mulch in a plant bed by the ring road and the Molyneux ground.

Very faded verdigris mushroom

Categories
David

Leopard slug

Leopard slug

Leopard slug moving down a concrete wall speckled with algae.

Leopard slug

It seemed to be eating the algae.

Categories
David

Red admiral still moving around as it feeds

Red admiral butterfly feeding on ivy

Still the same red admiral, now shifted to give a view from above of its half-open wings.

Red admiral butterfly feeding on ivy

Then another view from below, once again showing the long tongue in action.

Categories
David

Blackening waxcaps on a mossy lawn

Blackening waxcaps

Blackening waxcaps are yellow or orange when they first appear, gradually turning black within a few days.

Blackening waxcaps

They, and all waxcaps, are tiny mushrooms: less than a couple of centimetres high.

Blackening waxcaps

Categories
David

Another long tongue

Comma butterfly feeding on ivy

This is a comma butterfly, feeding on the same ivy bush as the red admiral. Once again, its long tongue means it holds its head up high while the food source is at its feet.

Categories
David

Yellow mould on a felled tree

Yellow mould on a felled tree

Yellow mould growing on the cut end of a felled tree trunk in East Park.

Categories
David

Fly agaric mushrooms near Chapel Ash roundabout

Fly agaric mushroom near Chapel Ash roundabout

Two fly agaric mushrooms growing in a flower bed near the Chapel Ash roundabout. Although they looked fresh, something had already had already had several chunks out of this one.

Fly agaric mushroom near Chapel Ash roundabout

This one had brought up some of the soil onto its cap as it grew.

Fly agaric mushroom near Chapel Ash roundabout

Side view of the same mushroom, showing the ring on the stem.

Categories
David

Beginning to open its wings

Red admiral butterfly feeding on ivy

The same red admiral butterfly featured in the previous post, now beginning to open its wings.

Categories
David

Red admiral butterfly, underwing

Red admiral butterfly feeding on ivy

A red admiral butterfly feeding with its wings folded showing the less decorated underside.

Its long tongue allows it to hold its head high as it feeds on one of the bunch of flowers it is standing on.