Wednesday 27 October 2021

Autumn On The Heath

Autumn remains just a whispered rumour to most of the trees in my local area. Occasional trees are changing colour but most are ignoring the calendar's inevitable progress, despite the chilly weather which has drifted in.



Whatever the trees may think, there is another plant which is always ahead of them when it comes to taking on a golden glow. There's not much of it where I live, but I know where to go to find it - and find lots of it...



Whatever else we may say about bracken, it looks stunning for a few weeks at this time of year. And Knettishall Heath, where we wandered back in early August, has more bracken than it really needs.



We'll follow the well-marked and well-trodden paths across the heath and through the varied woodland to enjoy the scenery and search for some fungi.



Parasol mushrooms (I think that's what they are) were abundant across the heathland.



As they get older they flatten out and can become quite large.



This little chap is probably (after lengthy perusal of my little guidebook) a Lilac Bonnet, a delicate character that somehow pushes its way up through the fallen twigs and leaf litter.



Wherever you find birch woodland in Britain, you're sure to find Birch Polypore fungus. In time it will kill the tree, though in the past it was put to all kinds of uses by the human population - from tinder to light fires, to a strop for sharpening razors.



And this of course is Fly Agaric, as illustrated in so many fairy tale books. I was very happy to find such a perfect example, even if it's of a slightly more orangey hue than some. But lets carry on in our quest for other kinds of colour.









The bracken out on the heath has turned rather more brown than that sheltered among the woods, but there are other delights out here...



The Exmoor ponies that we saw last time are still here, as they always are, employed in the conservation grazing of this extensive area. You could easily take a walk here without seeing the small herd of ponies among all the woods and heathland.



Last time I wrote about Knettishall Heath there was concern from some readers about the welfare of the ponies, particularly if they were to eat the bracken. I'm happy to now be able to report, apart from the fact that they have plenty of other vegetation to eat, that they are checked every day - I know this because we met the lady who has to find and check them. Luckily she has an ally in this endeavour...



This may be the only dog in the world to have been specially trained to track ponies. It's apparently a cross between a Black Labrador and a Bedlington Terrier, combining intelligence and speed. Such an ancestry, we were told, qualifies it as a "lurcher", though certainly one of the more unusual combinations of breeds.



Lets leave them to their work and continue our magical way through the late October landscape.




That Scots Pine standing proudly above its neighbours is evergreen, of course, but most of the other trees around it will eventually don their golden tones. With any luck we'll see more in the next month or so.





Take care.


36 comments:

  1. Hi John - brilliant - loved the walk around with you ... beautiful photos. I note other areas that I always think of with similar temperatures to ours are considerably cooler at the moment. No doubt the cold will appear - cheers Hilary

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  2. Simply beautiful. Our parasol mushroom are much more delicate than that, but I have a very soft spot for fungi - it is frequently beautiful and often delicious too.

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  3. I only thought the same yesterday when I was on my walk John - how late the trees are this year shedding their leaves - they are barely changing colour yet. I do hope they don't shed without changing colour.
    Interesting cross breed - Bedlingtons are one of my favourite breeds - for many years I knew a lovely one called Pippin - long dead now (owner too)

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  4. Our colours are pretty much a memory, and this year they were unexceptional in most locations. There has been a good deal of rain and the leaves were battered from the trees before there was a chance to mount a display. A nice exception was the Sugar Maple in my yard which turned bright crimson. Glorious!

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  5. Thank you for taking and sharing those beautiful photos, John. So nice to see the ponies living free and performing a public service as well.

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  6. The decorative work on that stone and brick bridge is just beautiful. Your fall colors are subtle yet, but a hint of what is to come.

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  7. I noticed that lovely stone work on the bridge too. I wonder who took the time to build such a pretty bridge. I enjoyed the info about the lady and dog that check on the ponies. What an interesting job!

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  8. I have seen many of those mushrooms here in our woodlands. And the bracken which we call ferns is about that color here too.
    Now I know what a lurcher is. I remember reading in a Jacqueline Winslett book about such a dog but couldn't picture it.

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    1. Oh, and in answer to your question, the painter is doing an excellent job. He's just so doggone slow. Job could have been done long ago.

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    2. Lurchers are dogs bred for hunting hares, rabbits and even deer, particularly for taking them illegally. A fast running dog is crossed with an intelligent breed - greyhound x border collie is a typical cross. But other breeds are used too so the outcome is variable to say the least.

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  9. So many interesting things to see in the woods now, like the mushrooms you photographed.

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  10. A beautiful walk there. That bridge is so lovely. I love seeing those mushrooms there, especially the Fly Agaric. I was going to ask if it was related to the Amanita muscaria, so I googled it and found that it is the Amanita muscaria. A lovely little hallucinogenic bit of fungus. Beautiful too.

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    1. Yes, indeed. I've often wondered how many of our ancestors' tales of giants, fairies, hobgoblins and such owe their existence to the consumption of various fungi.

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    2. Such a good question, John. I hadn't ever considered such a thing, but what an interesting thing to consider.

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  11. A lovely walk with lots of beautiful nature scenes.

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  12. I must go out on a fungi hunt. Our trees have changed colour quite a lot even in the past few days so I think autumn is here but will be short-lived.

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  13. I'd like to have a dog like that. I do love my labs, but miss the greyhounds we used to have. This one looks like a cross. I'll also be posting some photos--none as good as yours, I'm afraid, of a recent trip to a cranberry bog. Must get to work on it.

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  14. The trees here have not really started to change a lot either and those that have are not showing great colour this year. That looks like a great dog!

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  15. What a beautiful pace to walk so full of colour, I wondered if the dog was a whippet cross but they tend to be hairy if crossed with a Bedlington but it certainly is a pretty lurcher

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  16. Beautiful place for walking. You found some amazing fungi on your walk.

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  17. Thank you for taking me along on your walk through these woods. This is amazingly beautiful. And that bridge is simply artistically wonderful. Under that lilac bonnet, is that possibly a feather?

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    1. I think that's a leaf, reduced to just its skeleton by decomposition.

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  18. What a great place to wander through. Colors make me smile (S. California don't).

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  19. We don't get much Bracken around here but we certainly get fungi. No wild grazing ponies though.

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  20. There are no words to express how much I enjoyed the photos...each and every one of them.

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  21. Trees are turning a little here now, the lawn is covered in leaves at the moment. Wonderful photos of your walk, the dog does a great job helping to check on the ponies:)

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  22. Another beautiful walk. Love all the mushrooms!

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  23. Your fairy tale forrest is beautiful. I could dive there and disappear for a long time.

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  24. Another wonderful walk John. Thank you.

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  25. The coloring process of leaves is slow in my part of the world, too. Bracken-covered forest is so atmospheric. I consulted “bracken” in dictionary. It’s “warabi”! Young fiddlehead of it is a spring delicacy to some people. They traditionally know how to eat it safely by cooking. The fungi are cute and pony and dog are handsome. The bridge is artistically beautiful, doesn’t look like the one in the heath.

    Yoko

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  26. The ferns in the large city park near our mill apt home had already turned various shades of brown, when we were walking there last week. This week's rain and wind from a nor'easter (Mon to Wed) has probably blown all the remaining leaves off the trees and there's more rain today (Sat). I have also seen a large amount of mushrooms on some recent forest walks, but never bothered to check their ID, so thanks. John, for including a few names in this post.

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  27. Such beautiful photos of your woodland. I love that there is still so much greenery. We still have a lot of green, but colors are creeping in quickly. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.

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  28. Some bit ago I asked about your camera and you answered. Unfortunately I forgot to note the make and model. Dan wants to get me a camera for my birthday/Christmas gift which means I get to shop for it. Please send me that information again. I'll write it down this time. Thanks.

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  29. Great photos! Do mushrooms always grow in the late October in UK? Here, it's too cold.

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