A Tuesday Mix

Mystery Hoverfly


White Plume Moth, Autographa gamma


Rushes in the garden

Sciara hemebrioides

Red Clover, Trifolium pratense

And its pale cousin, the White Clover, Trifolium repense

Froghopper (sticking to the Nettles and leaving all my new plants alone)

very sweet, and unknown plant. (Probably from the birdfood!)

Macro Monday: Fruiting Fungi.

If you can tell me the name of this specie, please use the comment box, to let me know.

I spotted these gorgeous Fungi growing on a piece of tree; a thick piece of a tree trunk which is being used as a planter in the Rehabcare garden. It is the first time I have seen these here, and I wonder what they are. And what lyrical latin name is attached to them? I have looked on Irish Lichen and Fungi website by Jenny Seawright, but can only find one specie which looks similar, but there the bands are in reverse order; ie dark band on the outside.

It could be a variant of the Turkeytail, Tramestes versicolour








Next year I will plant a tree in memory of Francis. Most likely the native Ash/ Rowan,with it's beautiful finger like leaves and red berries. Apart from Birds, feeding on the fruit, there are loads of insect species linked to the Rowan, so that will be good. It will have to be planted into a pot of some sort, as we only got a few centimetres of soil on top of the rock here. Rowan is a medium sized tree anyway, so I very much doubt that a pot would be a problem. (apart from the cash needed for one of those!) I think planting it on his birthday, late January, would give a bare rooted tree a good chance too. His death came 4 days after his birthday after all.



The lovely little Bittercress, with its tiny flowers. Not fully opened yet. Immediately after I took my pictures, shovels of horse manure was dumped upon these weeds. i am sure I can find other specimens of the specie elsewhere, away from gardens. They grow all over the road verges, so I need to find a spot where I can take photos as well as stay out of harm's way from cars. not the easiest job.


Varigated Pepermint.

I forgot the name of these. Too much other stuff on my mind I guess.



Hellebore. The flower was facing in such a way that I could not get a good shot of it. The sleepers of the raised bed were preventing me from swinging around my wheels. Ah well, c'est la vie.



If you want to take part or know more about Macro Monday, please visit Lisa's blog.

Fungi Season.

A view out over Dunmanus Bay's, Four Mile Estuary at Church of Ireland and the Durrus Pier, near Bantry County Cork, Eire.


Growing up in a large woodland in the middle of The Netherlands, meant that in Autumn we would go forage for Chanterelle mushrooms. These were growing at the other side of the hill, about 4km from us. The shine of these little yellow ochre little caps among the yellowing fallen leaves and roots.

The tree of us, Elly, my mum, Louise my sis, and this blogger, would fill our bags and bring them to Nora, at the other end of our walk. The contents of our bags would appear on our plates and it is a taste I still long for, more than 40 years later. These little mushrooms are becoming rare in this forest, and elsewhere in the Netherlands too.
Sometimes I sit thinking very long when reading Wild Foraging tips in Wildlife and Nature magazines/websites. What will happen to our edible Fungi, plants and Flowers like Wood Sorrel, and other edible flowers/plants? Or will these evolve like Nettle and Brambles and develop into what most people call Weeds?

no chance of me finding Chanterelle mushrooms on my local patch though. I wish!
The other day, I did have a closer look at what looked like to be dead leaves, stuck on the bank among the Ivy. And soon I discovered that there was some Fungi among the flattened Grass and Ivy. Looking up, I spotted the Leaves of one of the Ash trees, standing tall above me.
The tree made me recall something on Fungi ID on the telly: search for certain Fungi by
looking up first. In my case it was the other way around, I found the Fungi, and the ID of the tree species might help me and other people in identifying it.


Ans so underneath this European Ash, Fraxinus excelsior



I found these:






Have not found the ID yet. So yes, tips would be welcome. Just leave a comment, please. A little further on, on a freshly mowed grass covered rocky wall, there were a lot more. It all looked pristine; unlike the previous Fungi, these were uneaten. Intact and in almost perfect order.
It might look odd to you that there is no tree near these mushrooms. At the other side of the garden are a couple of Scots Pine trees. With lots of mushrooms about where I guess the roots are. It is my guess that another (few?) Scots Pines were growing on top of this wall perhaps? Or other trees? And that these mushrooms are growing on the dead wood of the roots. I often see large trees growing on top of banks like this. We ourselves had a couple of very large Ash growing atop a similar stone wall/bank when we lived in Riverside cottage.



Across the garden, around the Scots Pine Tress:



And some other pictures of that day:

Montbretia, Crocusmia x crocusmiiflora


Wild Ivy, Hedera helix




A Little glimpse across:


Bee on Wild Ivy, Hedera helix

Lichen on the sea wall.


Great Tit, Parus major