Dryads Saddle

Another stunning day in the North today.
With errands to run and work to get done it would have helped not to have a lazy start - fortunately the arrival of the builders (yeay flood defences for house finished!) Eventually got us going.....

A trip to Lancaster and lunch at the Hideaway fitted well with a visit to see Mollie in the home, actively in search of a blip I headed into Dalham Estate - but the deer were spooked by the pheasant shooting. I'd kinda promised myself I'd look for something other than fungi - & something pretty cool did kinda find me* - but then I saw this spectacular Polypores squamosus - they're theoretically not rare - but it's a first for me. Whilst they can grow huge (the dead sycamore tree this is attached to is 4ft across) they don't last long - a favourite of various insects their open pore tubes (which explains the first part of their scientific name) make an excellent egg laying ground and they are soon consumed by the larvae and maggots that hatch. The second part of their name means scaly - which whilst accurate doesn't seem apt for such a beautiful thing - so I much prefer the common name with it's hints of mysticism.

*this unusual beast flew very low over the estuary - its a very rare to see V22 Osprey tilt rotor heli-plane. Apparently the SAS's latest tool in the war on terror - well it certainly made me jump!