Not An Old Map

It is the 'spalting' in the dish I roughed out this morning.
Spalting is caused by fugus growing in the decaying wood. You sometimes get variations of colour - that is almost the battle lines between different kinds of fungus.
One the wood has dried the fungus is no more - it is deceased, dead, no longer with us .... but the lines and patterns remain.
This has had a short spell in the microwave to accelerate the drying process and (hopefully) lessen the chance of the wood splitting.
Only time will tell.

There was a small shopping trip before  lunch and an attempt at more turning in the afternoon. 
That didn't quite go to plan as my next door neighbour side-lined me. Her husband is on holiday at the moment in Tenerife and she obviously needed somebody to talk to. I know I can talk the hind legs off a donkey , but I am a rank amateur compared to her.
An hour!

Other shots of the 'not an old map' and a couple of the well chewed (squirrel I assume) pine cone are Here.