WALKING WITH NATURE

Our challenge for today was to find some very small fungi that grow in fallen pine cones. There is a mixed woodland near where we live with numerous pines, redwoods and spruce as well as broad-leaved trees' so off we went. We only found 2 in the whole of the woodland, both growing on Scots pine cones; but we thoroughly enjoyed the 3 mile walk and the thorough search.

Our challenge for today was to find some very small fungi that grow in fallen pine cones. There is a mixed woodland near where we live with numerous pines, redwoods and spruce as well as broad-leaved trees' so off we went. We only found 2 in the whole of the woodland, but we thoroughly enjoyed the 3 mile walk and the thorough search. I need a better lens and a better exposure for this photo.

The clickable PiP shows one of the smallest fungi that I have ever seen. It's growing on a Scots pine cone.

It was around here that we found the pine cone fungus that is shown in the clickable PiP. It's a fairly gentle climb to the top, and the views are superb even on a dull day. Name: Oliver's Point Hill number: 17190 Height: 161m / 528ft

TSC. Today's Sunday Challenge: Get down low, shoot something from below knee level.

Gorse, furze or whin is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, the pea family. There are several different species. Common gorse flowers a little in late autumn and through the winter, coming into flower most strongly in spring. Western gorse and dwarf furze flower in late summer (August–September in Ireland and Great Britain). Between the different species, some gorse is almost always in flower, hence the old country phrase: "When gorse is out of blossom, kissing's out of fashion".

Arctium species. This reminded me of a bearded Scandinavian gnome with a snowy hat.

The Sunday Challenge: Unusual or odd shaped items

Today's Sunday Challenge is: Yellow The common name comes from the leaf's supposed resemblance to a colt's foot. The leaves of coltsfoot appear after the flowers have set seed. The long stems bear scale-leaves that can be seen more clearly in the PiP. Coltsfoot has been used in herbal medicine and the leaves have been used in traditional Austrian medicine internally (as tea or syrup) or externally (directly applied) for treatment of disorders of the respiratory tract, skin, locomotor system, viral infections, flu, colds, fever, rheumatism and gout. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tussilago