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.

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

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.

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

Leopard slug

Leopard slug

Leopard slug moving down a concrete wall speckled with algae.

Leopard slug

It seemed to be eating the algae.

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

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.

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.