Scarlet Elfcup

A varied day with a morning meeting at Swaddywell NR (where we flushed a Woodcock) followed by a visit to Old Sulehay Reserve, to assess health and safety issues for a planned walk this weekend. I soon decided that we needed to cancel - the recent rain has made many of the paths treacherous (I nearly slipped over twice!) and with two storms forecast there's a high chance that there would be unsafe trees in the wood on Saturday. Such a shame as the Snowdrops are at their best. 

I was pleased to find a small group of Scarlet Elfcup on some mossy fallen wood - such a jewel of a fungus, a real splash of colour at this time of year. Although this is the most likely species, Scarlet Elfcup is macroscopically indistinguishable from Ruby Elfcup - as I didn't bring a piece home to check under the microscope i can't be absolutely sure!

Another Zoom meeting this evening - a catch up with all the Parishes on the work of the John Clare Countryside project. Lots of good things underway - and great that I now know most of the people involved, having supported many of the parishes with their plans.