Tinder

Todays walk was in a nature-reserve not far from here. I started at almost five because I wanted to catch the sunset by the beach.The weather was dodgy with low clouds and rain showers at the horizon but mostly sunshine. The area is a well known birdwatch  place and I saw quite a few of watchers on my walk. I'm not one who recognise a lot of birds but I often carry my binoculars to get a closer look at them. I know that there is a rather new kind of Heron in this area, called Ardea alba in latin. I met a guy who said he saw one by the water but I missed that. I did see our usual grey Heron though.

I also missed the sunset because of the clouds and the approaching rain but there is a blip from the walk anyway, a Fomes fomentarius in latin. I have no idea what it's called in English, in Swedish it's called "Fnöskticka" and a dried one of these was in the old days an important ingredient in the art of making fire. The material you extract from the mushroom is called 'Fnöske" in Swedish, I believe it's 'Tinder' or 'Touch-wood' in English. You could make it glow by catching a spark produced by steel and a rock and then, if you practice a lot, make fire from the glow. There was six or seven growing on the birch.