Dressed in red or green perchance
I love to revel, drink and dance
With holly wreath and Wassail bowl
I’m Father Christmas, the season’s soul
The sky was a patchwork of cloud this morning, cumulus, altus and cirrus blending together and tinted red by the rising sun. The second I stepped out of the door a Hen Pheasant fluttered out in front of me, over the wall and into the bushes beyond. To my right the bold chirps of a Great Tit were intermingled with the sounds of Robins, Dunnocks and the odd Goldfinch from the tree line.
Heading down to the Dry Stone Walling Area I caught the strains of a Song Thrush from amid the Blackthorn, with a small flock of Bullfinches alighting nearby as I started down towards the Lighthouse.
Taking a sheep path around the top of the Gulley I spied a few possible Dung Roundheads, as well as a few Field Blewits still clinging on to life against the advancing cold. Pausing for a moment on the bridge I cast my gaze over the mass of Wild Clematis blanketing the vegetation below. Illuminated in the dawn light it looked almost like a snowscape.
Continuing on I reached the base of the Gulley by the Tilly Whim Caves and regarded the small stream flowing into the ocean. It was pooling on one side of the footpath, then filtering through a drain and exiting the land in an orderly fashion. Thank you for being so co-operative.
Light twittering from Goldfinches was audible along the Coast Path, and I waved as three Santa Clause’s jogged past in full regalia. Presumably they were getting a head start on the present delivery. A Peregrine Falcon was just visible peeking out from behind a promontory, soaking up the rays ready for the day.
My eyebrows shot up as I walked round Durlston Head when I noticed the sea rearing up into huge waves. They broke longitudinally, the torrential white water roiling along for some distance before finally dissipating in Durlston Bay. As I walked I snared a bag of cut material and started to drag it up the hill, straining against the weight of all the trimming our volunteers have been doing. Thankfully a good Samaritan came along and offered to share my burden. Thank you sir, and a Merry Christmas to one and all.
Fungi Update: I've just consulted with my fellow mycological enthusiasts and we have a speculative on the most recent Mystery Fungi that I've been alluding to. It seems likely that it's a Deciever, so named because it has a very varied appearance and is subsequently tricky to identify.