Sulphur-tuft

Yesterday was a truly beautiful autumn day, and somehow I didn't take a single photograph. But I enjoyed spending time in the garden tidying up some of the dying plants and mowing the lawn - and just enjoying all the flowers. Not quite up to Felbrigg's standard, but looking rather lovely nevertheless.

Today I led a botanical expedition to Stapleford Wood, up on the border with Nottinghamshire. The soils are acid, so we recorded many species such as heather and purple moor-grass that are rare in the rest of Lincolnshire, which generally has lime-rich soils. The morning was balmy, and we found a sheltered sunny spot for lunch, but by the end of the afternoon the skies had turned grey and you could feel the rain front approaching.

My fellow botanists dispersed about 3.30pm, but I couldn't resist exploring another area of the forest where I found this old pine stump festooned with sulphur-tuft fungi. Altogether we recorded over two hundred species of plant, but I think a fungus foray would also have been worthwhile, as there seemed to be a very diverse range of types, including colourful Boletes, Russulas and Amanitas.