Dunes

Harris, day three
The land edge of Luskentyre beach is a mass of sand dunes, held in place to some extent by marram grass. There were other plants too, like the pretty pinky mauve sea rocket (middle foreground of picture above). It's an interesting and challenging landscape to capture in photos. The shots I liked best were close-ups:

Some show interesting patterns in the sand. These are not the result of wet/dry patches or light/shadow but appeared to be produced by different tones of sand grains. Fascinating. 

I found a tiny toadstool too, which I think is a Dune Waxcap (Hygrocybe conicoides):

Maybe that is what gives the islanders the idea of putting bright orange corrugated iron roofs on their buildings. I'm glad they chose a blue front door here! 

Fungi

Fungus isn't something I've taken a lot of notice of in the past, unless I saw those traditional 'fairy' toadstools, the white-spotted red fly agarics. I've been reading recently how the ecosystem of a wood works, and how trees are linked by microscopic fungal networks, dubbed the 'wood wide web'. It's rather magical, so I decided to be more observant as I walked through Hirst Woods, to see how many fungi I could spot. At first I couldn't see any, but I gradually became more attuned and started to notice them, on dead wood and on living trees too. I didn't see any of the red ones, but there were quite a few different types. It's even harder for a novice to identify them than spot them though... I've tried googling different things but it's hard to be sure whether they are the same. I don't place any degree of trust in my ID-ing! There's one called 'hairy curtain crust' which looks similar to the one in the top photo. Don't they have wonderful names?

Those above are similar but not, I think, the same as those below. The top ones were tiny, the colour of shiny little bread buns and I'm not sure what they were - possibly sulphur tufts? The ones below, slightly bigger, are possibly Glistening inkcaps, as they appear to have a bit of a powdery coating.

Those below, similar shape, different colour... Might be angel's bonnet?

I thought immediately that the fungus below looked like a horse's hoof - and that, I think, is what it is called. A funny-looking thing...

The last one is another bracket fungus, possibly turkey tail.

It seems, in order to make a more positive identification, I would have to be much more careful to note the type of wood the fungus is growing on, the underside, the stem... all sorts of characteristics. I didn't touch any of them! I would not be sure which are poisonous and I certainly don't want to die from a walk in the woods. It did make me think I might join an organised 'fungus foray' though. There is a lot of secret life in those woods...

Sulphur Tufts

Before the frosts come (and they are late this year) the woodlands are full of fungi. These pretty little mushrooms remind me of some kind of fairy village, the stuff of childhood fantasy books perhaps. (I always loved 'The Magic Faraway Tree' by Enid Blyton.) In fact these are not so innocent and could cause a very nasty tummy upset and even paralysis, if you ate them. (As far as I can tell, anyway - I'm not an expert) they are Sulphur Tufts [Hypholoma fasciculare] whose purpose is to speed the decaying of old wood.

Double bracket

Another bracket fungus, this one a little closer to home, spotted on a recent walk up the riverside near the Rowing Club.  I really haven't a clue what type this one is; there appear to be several not dissimilar examples. Aren't fungi amazing things? Very other-worldly, I think. Sadly, I suspect it means this tree is on its way out. The fruiting body is the outward and visible sign of decay and rot to the heartwood of the tree.

Chicken of the woods

Yorkshire Sculpture Park  It's not always easy to decide what is art and what isn't. Just wandering around the Yorkshire Sculpture Park so attunes one's mind to sculptural forms that you start to notice the shapes in nature too. I know very little about fungus but googling the various pictures and sites, this appears most similar to one called 'Chicken of the Woods' (Laetiporous sulphureus), which is supposed to be edible. I wouldn't try it, not based on my identification anyway!