Pre-autumn

A morning walk in Bedford Purlieus, hoping to find the last flowers of the summer and the first fungi of autumn, Flowers were a bit sparse, apart from Eyebright which was in fill bloom, but there were plenty of seedheads, including the fluffy golden spikes of Wood Small-reed. Nestled in one of the feathery heads was a nymph of the Bishop's Mitre bug, which I think is more dramatic in appearance than the adult. 

I was moderately succesful in my search for fungi, finding three species of bolete, although one was only just emerging from the forest floor so couldn't be identified. There was a scatter of other species including the rather lovely assemblage of Pale Oyster caps in Extra, growing on a cut oak log. This is tasty and edible but I can never bring myself to destroy such perfection or take away a vital food source for many invertebrates.