You thought us vanquished with the winter but people, you thought wrong
Look closer as you walk the woods and see we still stand strong
We can’t be stopped, we can’t be killed, death is our bread and butter.
Every time we are knocked down we rise up from the gutter.
Come rain, come sun, come frost or hail, come storms with crashing waves.
The fungi army will prevail, and we’ll dance on all your graves
A lovely clear morning with good visibility and a rich blue sky, moderately decorated with cloud. The calm after the storm. I set off for the Woodlands vial Long Meadow, enjoying the sight of a Green Woodpecker’s undulating flight across the path. Carrion Crows were hobbling about in the centre of the field, with Chaffinches and Dunnocks occupying the higher branches of Blackthorns in the hedge.
I received an extremely pleasant surprise when I entered the woods and spied a patch of Scarlet Elf Cap growing on the log border. I was sure the recent frosts had injured our resident fungi population, but those little things are unstoppable. Further into the Woodlands were patches of fresh flowering Spring Crocus, the delicate pale flowers a delightful appetiser to the upcoming course of Snowdrops, soon to be in bloom.
Looping back towards the Castle I passed under a Japanese Spindle, and observed a Magpie carrying twigs to build a nest. Very industrious. A Yellow Brain fungus had also ridden out the cold, and was proudly on display atop a Holm Oak log.
Past the Castle’s gently swaying Daffodils, the Clifftop Trail beckoned. Snuggled among the undergrowth beside the path were a few shy Great Periwinkle flowers, a lovely decoration along the route to the observation point. Fulmars circled over the waves, and a mixed raft of around 35 Guillemots and Razorbills floated on the water, a roughly 50/50 split between the two cousins. A single Jackdaw sat on the Tamarisk in front of me, perhaps taking a break from the noise and bustle of its flock. The final prize of my walk was a very impressive Jelly Ear at the top of the Diagonal Path, feasting upon the slowly decaying wood of its home.