Soft

Another glorious Indian summer day, 18-19C, though such high temperatures at the end of October really don't seem right... 

The working day kicked off with a Teams meeting to discuss some potential work on a rewilding project next season. It certainly sounds interesting, but we now need to arrange a site visit before we can estimate what the scale of the work is likely to be.

By the time I'd dealt with some outstanding emails and phone calls it was nearly lunchtime, and I decided that I needed to get out for a walk. At this time of year it seems like I want to make the most of all the good weather, to store up the joys of autumn in advance of inevitable periods of bad winter weather.

Southey Wood was my destination, and it didn't disappoint. It was great to see plenty of families picnicking and den-building near the entrance, but the north end of the wood was pretty deserted. There were plenty of fungi about, including my first Wrinkled Peach of the year, very close to where I found one in November 2020. 

But today this rather unassuming fungus is my choice, because of the very delicate pinkish colour of its cap, located at the end of a long and slender stalk. I'm generally a bit out of my comfort zone identifying fungi, but I'm fairly sure this is a Psathyrella, possibly Rootlet Brittlestem Psathyrella microrrhiza, which characteristically develops a pale pinkish cap as it dries. But, whatever it is, I think it;s beautiful!