Star Jelly

Well, this is different. This is the second time we have encountered it on the island. Curious, I sought guidance from the Internet and, for once, the Internet has no idea. Or, rather, it has many ideas but does not know which one is right

The folk-tale explanation is that it is deposited on the earth during meteor showers - hence the name. Now, as I blipped on the 22nd, Mrs M DID witness a meteor in a spectacular star-filled sky overnight. Folk-tale or folk wisdom?

And this is far from the least plausible explanation: it is an exudate of slime-mould or cyanobacteria; it is the remnants of frog/toad spawn (or, indeed, frog/toad oviducts), regurgitated as indigestible by predators; it is a fungus growing on wood (no wood near our sightings); it is stag semen... are you still with me? If you go deep enough into the flakier recesses of the digital universe, it is a by-product of weapons testing, it is extra-terrestrial life and - you saw this coming - it is the remnant of chem-trails

I think I'm just happy that we have seen something for which there is no well-proven explanation. It's good to be reminded we don't know everything