Wide-eyed in the woods

Looking for fungi requires  something akin to what Sigmund Freud recommended the analyst should  employ in listening to a patient: evenly-suspended , or hovering, attention. Awareness of humidity, terrain and light levels is essential and, since fungi have a close association with vegetation, types of trees are significant. But in general, vigilance is more important than searching. However a log pile is always worth a detour and the one I visit regularly is a happy hunting ground. 

Today I spotted a species there that I have never found before: the eyelash fungus, Scutellinia scutellata.. It's not uncommon but easily overlooked, being very small indeed. Each of the tiny orange discs, a centimetre or two in diameter, is fringed with delicate hairs that look as if they are just waiting for the attentions of a miniscule mascara wand. 

My image isn't too sharp but you can see the detail better here.  Another name for this species is Molly Eye Winker but although I gazed at it  for some considerable time it just stared right back, wide-eyed.