Green Elfcup

Monday Mushroom #31

The green elfcup - one of my favourite mushrooms due to the distincitve colour. The main body of the fungus grows through dead wood staining it a deep blue-green colour - you can often find bits of infected wood at any time of the year, but the fruiting bodies are short lived and rarely seen.

Chlorosplenium aeruginascens - Green Elfcup

 These elfcups are not yet fully developed - they will grow to about twice this size (up to about 1.5cm diameter) and the margin will unroll until they are flat on top.

Chlorosplenium aeruginascens - Green Elfcup

Clearance

Scenic Sundays #31

One of the many crofting townships that did not sourvive the highland clearances. This one is a little south of Dervaig on the the Isle of Mull. You can click on the image to get a slightly bigger version...

Anthropomorphic Groyne

Fencepost of the Week #39

A groyne isn't a fence, but a groyne post is pretty much the same as a fence post... Anyway, here's a beautifully weathered old man of the sea, Winchelsea Beach, Rye.

F-Numbers

Wildife Wednesday #31

Here is a tiny, tiny snail - it is sitting on a nettle leaf, so the size of the leaf serrations is probably your best guide to how small this snail actually is. It is also beautiful!

I have been taking quite a lot of close up photos recently, but I'm always struggling to get enough light - this first photo is with the aperture fully open - F2.8 There is hardly anything in focus, but it is correcly exposed.



The second photo is taken with the aperture down to F10 - more details, but the whole thing is underexposed - grainy and washed out.

I may have to try experimenting with artificial light if I want all the details. I'm loth to do it as the available light is an important part of my photography...

Cramp Balls

Monday Mushroom #30

Cramp balls are black globs of brittle, charcoal-like matter often found emerging from ash wood.

Daldinia concentrica - Cramp Ball

 In cross-section they show a distincive pattern of concentric rings.

Daldinia concentrica - Cramp Ball

They are sometimes called King Alfred's Cakes in reference to the this old story (2nd paragraph.)

The other common name - cramp balls - rises from a belief that carrying a cramp ball about your person makes you immune to cramp. Certainly I have never suffered from cramp while carrying a cramp ball.

Scotland, Solway, England

Scenic Sundays #30

Views from Dungarry hill-fort, looking southeast over the Solway Firth towards England.  

Tiny Wee Rowan Tree

Fencepost of the Week #38