A Sunday Morning Stroll In The Woods

October 5, 2009 by Darren
Filed under: Blog 

Yesterday it was back to Hamsterley Forest for a ramble. We were just exploring seeing where paths lead us. Along the way we came across picturesque spots by streams that would be ideal for a hot summers day, a picnic and a cool refreshing dip in a swimming hole.

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Above: Shaggy Inkcap Below: Not sure what this decaying one is, could be they are Shaggy Inkcaps they were right by the others.

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Below: There were one or two female pheasants along the way. At one stage there were about six altogether in one spot.

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Below are some scenic shots taken along our ramble

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Comments

9 Comments on A Sunday Morning Stroll In The Woods

  1. TTG on Tue, 6th Oct 2009 11:02 am

    2. Don’t quote me on this but aren’tshaggy ink caps edible if caught early when fresh, before they rot and start to ooze and drip. Of course the disclaimer should be that you must learn to accurately identify funghi before you even think of picking them for consumption and then only if you are completely sure yourself that it is what you believe it to be and that it is edible. It is SO easy to get it wrong. Take the shaggy ink cap, it has a very toxic clone that can even fool the experts.

    Still, I grew up once a year collecting field mushrooms when staying at my Grandparents as a kid and I am no long past being a kid. I have even had a bit of shaggy ink cap that my Dad once picked, cooked and ate along with some other funghi that I was not too sure about myself. If you know what you are doing Autumn is good for free food.

    Nice photos Darren.

  2. Darren on Tue, 6th Oct 2009 11:35 am

    3. TTG, you are right if you know what you are doing then there is indeed a great feast to be had for free in the Autumn.
    I’m not sure about the shaggy inkcap being edible. I’m not that much of an expert on them.

  3. TTG on Tue, 6th Oct 2009 12:29 pm

    4. I’m still here Darren so I guess it is. I was a kid at the time so more likely to get ill if toxic. Of course you need to make sure it is this type of funghi. There is one that is a killer or at least a very seriously ill sort of funghi. I used to know the name of it and how to tell the difference, it is something to do with the frilly ring on the stem, but don’t trust that indicator based on my comments.

  4. Peewiglet on Wed, 7th Oct 2009 7:14 pm

    5. Lovely photos! Particularly the shaggy ink caps. I love fungi!

  5. Darren on Thu, 8th Oct 2009 8:21 am

    6. Shirl, glad you like the photos. I did some great fungi photos last year at Fleet Pond, think I nearly bored folks to death with them.

  6. TTG on Thu, 8th Oct 2009 10:17 am

    7. Can’t get too many good funghi photos IMO. There are some very interesting ones out there. I’ve got one of a nice yellowy-orange one that looks almost tree-like. The colour positively leaps out of the autumnal leaf litter around it. It had an almost glossy, multi-tonal colour to it.

    Keep posting the funghi photos Darren, they are good.

  7. Darren on Thu, 8th Oct 2009 1:44 pm

    8. TTG real treat coming up in near future then ;)

  8. TTG on Thu, 8th Oct 2009 3:37 pm

    9. If you are into your funghi and their identification I’ve got a bit of a challenge for you. I can send you a photo of one I took a few years ago to challenge you to identify.

  9. Darren on Thu, 8th Oct 2009 8:41 pm

    10. TTG feel free to send the picture and I will try my best.

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