A Walk in the Park

Identifying fungi is never a walk in the Park for me, and I haven't yet worked out what species of elfin bonnets these were growing on an ancient gnarled and twisted Sweet Chestnut tree in Levens Park.

I met up with my former colleague M for a walk through the Park, up to Sedgwick and eventually back again along the other side of the Kent.  There's always a lot to take in on this walk, this time it was seeing some of the destruction from Storm Arwen that the old parkland trees suffered, it was not as bad as I feared, but still bad enough for ancient trees that take so long to replace.  We saw goosanders, little grebes and dippers on the river, and a fine lone fallow buck on the west side of the Kent, and the rest of the melanic herd on the east side.

And in between we talked, there's always so much to talk about.  After two years of retirement I still miss working with M and my closest colleagues, but there is also so much I don't miss about working.  It was the right time to leave.

Gus used to enjoy this walk, but it's too far for him now, and he wouldn't have coped with the stiles over boundary walls.  He stayed at home with his favourite human.

ps Possibly Clustered Bonnet (Mycena inclinata)