October
October (updated on Thursday 5 October)
October was the eighth month of the Roman Year - but the Slavs called it the ‘Yellow month‘ because of the fading colours of the leaves.
After another wet summer in South Devon, September was warm and dry. October has brought an immediate change with windy, showery conditions and daytime temperatures at lower than at the end of last week. The wet weather seems to have brought a magnificent display of rowan berries (see picture below, top left) whilst the blackthorn bushes are laden with sloes. Old country folklore might suggest that this portents a harsh winter but the fact is that plants can’t predict the weather – they only reflect what has happened!
The dry weather brought in a further influx of butterflies to the Devon Coast but few of these have reached Dartmoor. We have had good numbers of speckled woods (see picture below, top right) and red admirals but the wet windy conditions have put an end to those.
Fungi - The Third Force!
Fungi are neither plants (they don’t have chlorophyll) or animals and are now recognised as a kingdom in their own right. The problem for the amateur enthusiast is that there are so many of them…..several thousand in the UK alone.
I led my first foray of the year on Tuesday September 29th.
After such a wet summer we might have expected to have a good crop of fungi but the dry weather over the previous weeks had dried out the soil – not good for fungi. Despite the ‘drought’ we still managed to find about 30 different species. Some years seem to produce certain species in abundance and this year it appears to be Tawny Grisette (see picture below, bottom left). As usual False Death Cap was abundant plus enough Brown Birch Boletes to make some soup but sadly no sign of any Ceps.
One of the many interesting features of fungi is their unpredictability! A whole day of rain on Wednesday October 7th might have been expected to produce a flush but this mornings reconnaissance was a bit disappointing, particularly in terms of edible species. Perhaps it takes a bit longer for the moisture to activate the production process.
Fungi Foray at Gidleigh Park Hotel, Monday 5 October
A damp drizzly day for this foray but at least we found some ‘eaters’. Particularly of note was a cep in good condition and, sadly, a much larger one that had been demolished by slugs. In terms of fungi slugs are probably Public Enemy Number One but they are part of nature’s re-cycling process. Several examples of the poor-mans beefsteak were also found (see picture below, bottom right). This is a bracket fungus normally found on old/ancient oak trees and when cooked resembles steak. However well-prepared and succulent this species might be it certainly would not match the delights of gourmet cuisine in the Gidleigh Park Hotel!
Future Events - Fungi Guided Walk
I will be leading another foray on Sunday 25 October for Dartmoor National Park. This also starts at 09.30 hours from the Lower Car Park (Bovey Tracey end) on Trendlebere Down. Charge is £5.00 per adult. This is a short stroll of just over 1 mile and lasts for 3 hours. The objective is to find as many different fungi as possible!
If you can’t make this one then why not get together with a few of your friends and fix up another time with me? Cost for a group of 6 people for 3 hours would be just £5.00 per adult!
October was the eighth month of the Roman Year - but the Slavs called it the ‘Yellow month‘ because of the fading colours of the leaves.
After another wet summer in South Devon, September was warm and dry. October has brought an immediate change with windy, showery conditions and daytime temperatures at lower than at the end of last week. The wet weather seems to have brought a magnificent display of rowan berries (see picture below, top left) whilst the blackthorn bushes are laden with sloes. Old country folklore might suggest that this portents a harsh winter but the fact is that plants can’t predict the weather – they only reflect what has happened!
The dry weather brought in a further influx of butterflies to the Devon Coast but few of these have reached Dartmoor. We have had good numbers of speckled woods (see picture below, top right) and red admirals but the wet windy conditions have put an end to those.
Fungi - The Third Force!
Fungi are neither plants (they don’t have chlorophyll) or animals and are now recognised as a kingdom in their own right. The problem for the amateur enthusiast is that there are so many of them…..several thousand in the UK alone.
I led my first foray of the year on Tuesday September 29th.
After such a wet summer we might have expected to have a good crop of fungi but the dry weather over the previous weeks had dried out the soil – not good for fungi. Despite the ‘drought’ we still managed to find about 30 different species. Some years seem to produce certain species in abundance and this year it appears to be Tawny Grisette (see picture below, bottom left). As usual False Death Cap was abundant plus enough Brown Birch Boletes to make some soup but sadly no sign of any Ceps.
One of the many interesting features of fungi is their unpredictability! A whole day of rain on Wednesday October 7th might have been expected to produce a flush but this mornings reconnaissance was a bit disappointing, particularly in terms of edible species. Perhaps it takes a bit longer for the moisture to activate the production process.
Fungi Foray at Gidleigh Park Hotel, Monday 5 October
A damp drizzly day for this foray but at least we found some ‘eaters’. Particularly of note was a cep in good condition and, sadly, a much larger one that had been demolished by slugs. In terms of fungi slugs are probably Public Enemy Number One but they are part of nature’s re-cycling process. Several examples of the poor-mans beefsteak were also found (see picture below, bottom right). This is a bracket fungus normally found on old/ancient oak trees and when cooked resembles steak. However well-prepared and succulent this species might be it certainly would not match the delights of gourmet cuisine in the Gidleigh Park Hotel!
Future Events - Fungi Guided Walk
I will be leading another foray on Sunday 25 October for Dartmoor National Park. This also starts at 09.30 hours from the Lower Car Park (Bovey Tracey end) on Trendlebere Down. Charge is £5.00 per adult. This is a short stroll of just over 1 mile and lasts for 3 hours. The objective is to find as many different fungi as possible!
If you can’t make this one then why not get together with a few of your friends and fix up another time with me? Cost for a group of 6 people for 3 hours would be just £5.00 per adult!
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