Candlesnuff Fungus

Or candlestick fungus, carbon antlers or stag's horn fungus!

Found this beauty growing in a split in a tree stump. I used my little LED panel to throw light from the left, rendering the depths of the dip as shadow and thus highlighting the whiteness of the fungus.

Finlay was on form today - I think the smell of squirrels, rabbits, deer, dogs etc. in the woods really grabs his attention. We also went off the main path a bit today.

I was really surprised that the ground is not sodden after all the recent rain. Walking is sometimes really difficult in the squelchy mud. I am guessing that the water table must have been really low after the summer. This is sort of confirmed by the fact that the springs that normally flow (even in summer) beside one of the lanes we walked along have still not reappeared after drying up earlier this year.