Fancy a dip?

 

I kid you not, this is a swimming pool.  Well, obviously it isn't anymore but it used to be in Victorian times.  Now, its a lovely little wet habitat in an ancient woodland called the Gill near Goudhurst. You cant see in this picture but there are steps going down into it. These steps, which once bore the weight of ladies and gents donning splendid bathing suits and tunics, now host a funky little array of mosses and ferns.

The Gill is a fascinating little woodland with an avenue of old lime trees, planted to commemorate the birth of the landowner's son, and various other interesting features such as the remains of a marker's hut...

Lime tree avenue

Marker's hut remains from an old rifle range

Remains of some poor sod

Unidentified bracket fungus

A full archaeological survey should hopefully turn up some more interesting features so watch this space.  It may also turn up some more unwanted creatures as I delve deep into the woods, in light of which I have tweaked the poem from my last blog.  Enjoy:

There was a young lady with big hair,
One day she woke up to quite a scare,
Two spiders and a gnat,
Three wrens and a bat
Had all made a nest in her hair!

Happy New Year!

"There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, 'It is just as I feared!-
Two Owls and a Hen
Four Larks and a Wren
Have all built their nests in my beard!'"

[A poem by Edward Lear]

I wonder what wildlife treats 2012 has in store.

December in pictures

Ferntastic

Broadwater Warren

Fly Agaric

Turner's Field - volunteering til sundown!

Attack of the blackthorn

Norfolk Estate, Arundel

Archeological Tree Hugging

Sadly not iron slag, boo

Saw mill remnants

My future home, she wishes

Old school shepherding and the greater spotted jack russell

Earthworks

Frankly more fungi

It does seem my intermittent blog has taken a slight fascination with fungi but I spend of lot of time at the moment in woodlands and well, there is a lot of it about!  Here are some more little beauties that I recently found...

Shaggy Parasol Macrolepiota rhacodes

Jew's Ear Auricularia auricula-judae

Jew's ear is also known sometimes as Jelly ear.  It is so called apparently because Judas hanged himself from an Elder tree (which is where this fungus is most commonly found).

Candle Snuff Fungus Xylaria hypoxylon

Other odd ones growing on branches...

On a non fungal related matter, the urban greenspace that is our communal garden grows ever more fascinating.  One of my first blogs was about the interesting flora species found on the grassy area.  I believe we have a Pin Oak tree which is quite random.  It is native of North America and more of an ornamental here.  We have had the pleasure of seeing a bullfinch twice in the last couple of days, feeding on the birch.  The birch has also been very popular with goldcrest, chaffinches, greenfinches, coal tits, and blue tits.

Away with the fairies

Now's a great time to go foraging for fairies' bonnets, jelly babies, pig's ears, yellow fingers, witch's butter and slippery jack.  Yes these are all types of fungus.  I don't know who was in charge of naming the different species but I think they probably had a go at tasting or licking them first, oh there goes a fairy wearing a bonnet! I snapped a few fungalicious shots whilst out in Saddlescombe Farm and Broadwater Warren...

Egg Yoke Fungus

Velvet Shank

Brown roll-rim (?)

Brown roll-rim (?)

possible bell cap?

Fly Agaric

Bolete sp

I am not 100% on the ID and some I havent figured out but I'll keep foraging with the fairies!

Rainham Marshes

We visited RSPB's Rainham Marshes on Sunday for the first time.  These marshes just next to the Thames and London are apparently medieval.  It is a great site for waders, wildfowl and birds of prey.  It also has quite an interesting history.  It was closed for 100yrs and used as a military firing range.  There are remnants of this around the site such as this target wall (spot the kestrel on no 6):

There was also this remnant piece of tree which supposedly dates back to neolithic times (approx 6000 years ago).  It was preserved in the silt at the bottom of a ditch, preventing any oxygen access and thus decay, until now!

Wonder what species of tree it was and what sort of people used to sit under its canopy.

Birds spotted included lapwing, snipe, golden plover, teal, wigeon, shoveler, grey heron, little egret, kestrel, stonechat, little grebe, and black-tailed godwit.  Good site but prefer Dungeness or Rye.

My post obviously wouldn't be complete without a picture of some creepy looking monster - so here you go:

Araneus diadematus Garden Spider (female)

Aspen, a popular trembler

I just wanted to share with you this beautiful tree as it is a wondrous sight to behold in its autumn splendour.  Aspen is a native tree to Britain and is part of the Poplar family.  The latin name is Populus tremula, so called as the leaves appear to tremble in a breeze (and they make a rustling sound).  In autumn, the leaves turn golden yellow as you can see in the below pictures from a visit yesterday to Kiln Wood:

The leaves have a fairly distinctive shape:

(image from trees for life)

Personally I dont think we have enough of these trees.  But hey ho what do I know.