An Enchanted Place

On day 206 of 365 Days Wild, in between preparing some Christmas treats, I wandered down to the little woodland in search of fungi. I’d spotted a couple of little toadstools hiding in amongst the leaf litter during my walk on day 204 but I didn’t have the time, then, to hunt out any more or to spend time photographing them. On day 205, however, I hunted out lots of them.

There were more of the little ones which are, I think, a type of Mycena.

There was one slightly larger toadstool that I’ve not yet managed to identify.

The amount of tiny bracket fungus on the deadwood was the thing that I was most pleased to see. I’ve always been somewhat disappointed by how few there were to be found in the little woodland. It’s great to see the imcrease. The area has been in the care of the village Nature Project for a couple of years now, so it’s possible that the new management plan, that aims at increasing biodiversity, is making a positive impact.

When I wasn’t out hunting for fungi, I was preparing a few little Christmas treats. These included some festive biscuits and chocolates (that I forgot to take photos of before delivering to family members) and some sloe gin. I collected the sloes from the hedgerows back in September and set them to soak in gin. It has now been sweetened with sugar syrup and bottled, ready for sampling… though it would be best left to mature until next year…

That’s all for today. Have you spotted any fungi lately, or prepared any treats ready for Christmas? What’s happening where you are? Let me know in the comments.

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it!