Cherry gall

Today I was a 'lady that lunches', meeting up with two friends who also home educated their children at the Collyweston Slater. Excellent company and conversation was accompanied by a delicious salad topped with two Portobello mushrooms stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes, pesto and cheese.

On the way home I went for a quick walk round Collyweston Great Wood to try and burn off a few calories. The sun was already low in the sky, and the wood was rather bleak at first sight, but there were plenty of these golden cherry-galls lying around, and also I managed to find two different species of wood-wart on a fallen ash. Having acquired a permit, I really must visit more often - there are some truly magnificent coppice stools of small-leaved lime.