Wet and Windy!

After some fine Indian Summer weather, today was much more autumnal, but I didn't let it deter me. I went to GW again as I'd had an interesting haul last time. The walk I did was 4 sides of a square, and as I approached the third corner, I was mentally composing my blog ... "Zilch .." it was going to say. Then, a lovely large orange birch bolete sprang into view. All was not lost. As I turned the corner I saw a bay bolete, then another. And another. And another... they were mostly small or a bit chewed, but from having had an empty basket, I had quite a respectable collection. On returning home, a hot bath and a slab of home made plum cake were in order. It was a bit wet to get my camera out, so the picture is from my last visit to this location.

Rich pickings

Found not only Trompettes de mort but autumn chanterelles, a few chantrelles and one very small cep at G.Woods today. Also collected some biberries and saw a beautiful dragonfly.

The mother of all fairy rings

It's been a while! A difficult time at work, and what the insurance people understatedly call an RTA, have meant that I haven't really felt inspired to commit my thoughts to blog. However, I think that failing to record this sighting would be a crime against mycology. It was on 26 October above Happy Valley near Aberdovey. It consisted of Lepiota Procera (Parasol mushrooms) and the evidence of abundant nettles and the remains of giant puffballs suggested that this was an old manure heap. Apart from this, there was a wide range of wax caps in the surrounding meadows. The walk itself was lovely. It was a sharp uphill climb, mainly on tracks, followed by a descent into the valley. Another climb took us up to the bearded lake, then a return walk along an almost traffic-free gated road proved to be the best part of the walk. The fairy ring was by this roadside, and following this, the autumn afternoon sun on our backs meant that we were able to stroll gently, and even sit for a while, enjoying the aerial displays of three buzzards level with us above the beautiful valley.

The rest of this short break to southern Snowdonia consisted of a thorough soaking by Lake Bala, courtesy of a sudden dramatic downpour during what was supposed to be a gentle stroll to break the journey, and for which we were toatally unprepared, a splendid walk near a small hamlet rejoicing in the name of Llanifhangel-y-pennant, the highlights of which were a waterfall near the start of the walk, and a nice cup of tea, a sit down and a slice of buttered bara brith in the community centre in Abergynolwyn, conveniently located at the halfway point of the walk, and a repeat of the precipice walk near Dolgellau, which has to provide some of the most stunning views for amazingly little effort. Thanks to our hosts Alex and Lorraine, and their stunningly located guesthouse, it was a great few days. The fact that somone decided to pull out in front of us on the way home and cause what became several weeks of stress, that I hope is now mainly over, almost made me forget what a lovely time we had. I'm glad I finally got round to recording it.

Small but perfectly formed

Last weekend I made a return visit to the location I searched on 20 August, which I am going to call Manny. Whilst I didn't find a lot, what I did find was in very good condition: 2 small ceps, half a dozen bay boletes, large field mushrooms and meadow wax caps. The ceps went into a bake with some potatoes, an assortment were added to a ragout of home grown borlotti beans, tomatoes and onions, and the remainder were dried now that my dehydrator is now fully operational again. Speaking of which, the fruits I dried (oranges, mangoes, strawberries and plums) and dipped in chocolate (Grren and Black dark cooking chocolate) for Elaine's birthday, were very well received both by Elaine, and by the others in the office.

Normal service not yet resumed...

A bit of a gap in the hunting owing to a heavy cold / flu laying me low last weekend. The weather has been very mild - quite close in fact. I decided to have a short outing after work today, so went "Robin". There was not much to find. certainly nothing for tea. I wonder if the temperature needs to drop before there is any chance of a new flush.At least I now have my dehydrator back in action.

Loadsa mushrooms

A brilliant morning's foray at "Ed woods" this weekend. The woods were full of bay boletes and saffron milk caps, and a few slippery jacks. There were some fine field mushrooms, but nothing to speak of in the way of wax caps. A bonus on the way back was a large harvest of sloes. Rounding off the morning with a pint of tea and a bacon butty made it a perfect Saturday morning.