penny buns

A wee Patterdale terrier called Tess has been missing from Steilston Woods for two days so I thought I'd take Jess up there for a walk and see if we could find her. We were stopped on the track by a man in an SUV who wound down his window and told me that there were deerstalkers about, so I had better put my dog on the lead. I did so, not wanting Jess to be shot, but it was a shame for her as this is one of her favourite walks.

We went up the front of Steilston Hill, a steep way up through young conifers and bracken. I have never seen so many beautiful specimens of Amanita muscaria (Fly Agaric) in all stages of development..

We never saw or heard a deerstalker, or a deer, or Tess, sadly. I did see some ceps (penny buns/Boletus edulis) and brought them home for lunch. They were very tasty fried in olive oil.

Such a nice day that I didn't want to be inside after lunch, either, so did some gardening and looked for more fungi. I found some Amethyst Deceiver in the woods (see extra); they are edible but I let them be.

I cooked a sweet potato and chickpea curry for tea and put in it some of the beans and kale I'd picked earlier.

We had a blast at drumming tonight - taught the new members a number called Superintendé and they totally nailed it in under an hour. Brilliant!