A very unusual opportunity to get a good close look at the rare and wonderful lichens of Stonehenge, thanks to open access for the Winter Solstice. I love how everyone was there for their own reasons, and this was one of mine. 21/12/25 #stonehenge #lichen @englishheritage.bsky.social

Around the village hedgerows for #thewinter10 Some new things in flower this week. See ALT text for details. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

What a beautiful experience (lovely weather too). Celebrating the Winter Solstice at Stonehenge at dawn this morning #stonehenge

Always worth a walk on the beach after a storm. I love the vibrant colours of the Portuguese man o' war. Always great to see Goose Barnacles, and is that a non-native Striped barnacle (Amphibalanus amphitrite)? #beach #beachcombing

Another beautiful slime mould (Badhamia utricularis I think) #slimemould #slimemold

Slime mould Craterium minutum on a Hawthorn leaf. Also with a fifty pence piece for scale. #slimemould #slimemold

I can never resist stopping if I’m nearby, and lovely and quiet this time of year. #stonehenge

This beautiful Common Chickweed flower, my favourite of this week’s #thewinter10 . Such a delicate and tiny flower in mid-December. #WildFlowerHour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

All these #thewinter10 in bloom, on one (large) roundabout on the A35 in Dorset ! I stopped because I saw the Scabious , all the rest was a bonus 😀 See ALT text for details. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

A very tiny Botryosporium sp. (maybe B. longibrachiatum), growing on a decaying houseplant. Each fruiting body 1-2 mm long. #fungi #FungiFriends

I admit to being a little obsessed with Holly Parachute (Marasmius hudsonii). This time with a fifty pence piece for scale 😮 #fungi #FungiFriends

Well past its best but so amazing to see Ileodictyon cibarium (the white basket fungus). An extraordinary Australian/New Zealand species, found in a few UK locations. #fungi #FungiFriends

Rather dry now, but still wonderful to see Barometer Earthstars (Astraeus hygrometricus) today #fungi #FungiFriends

This beautiful red weevil, Apion sp. (A. frumentarium perhaps) #insect #beetle #weevil

A very wet #thewinter10 challenge this week, from the hedgerows around my Dorset village. Still flowering, well into December!! #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

I can’t resist posting another photo of Aseroe rubra (Anemone Stinkhorn). This was the largest specimen I found and nicely shows the remains of the ‘egg’ it emerged from. Surrey 4/12/25 #fungi #FungiFriends

It’s always the tiny things that grab my attention. Like this tiny Mycena species. Surrey pine woodland 6/12/25 #fungi #FungiFriends

Tonight’s incredible full moon - too bright to really photograph properly in a dark sky. #moon #fullmoon #supermoon

‘If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise’ 😮 The amazing Aseroe rubra (Anemone Stinkhorn). Surrey 4/12/25 #fungi #FungiFriends

Good evening

Not too many insects around on the last day of November, but this Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) was still living its best life on a late flowering Yarrow. South Wales 30/11/25 #insect #hoverfly #WildFlowerHour

This week’s #thewinter10 challenge to myself, ten from Kenfig NR in South Wales. It’s definitely getting more difficult but here they are, plus a bonus Sea Spurge that wasn’t really in flower, but I liked it anyway. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

A beautiful morning at Kenfig Sands 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

My one and only Pink/Ballerina Waxcap (Porpolomopsis calyptriformis ) of the year so far (from an area with dozens last year). Plus some bonus Golden Waxcaps (Hygrocybe chlorophana) and a lovely Cordyceps militaris. Surrey 25/11/25 #fungi #FungiFriends #surrey

A perennial favourite of mine, Holly Parachute - Marasmius hudsonii. I wonder how many hours I’ve spent on my hands and knees under wet Holly bushes? One photo with pen tip for scale. New Forest today 24/11/25 #fungi #NewForest #FungiFriends

This week’s #thewinter10 challenge to myself, ten from Powerstock NR in Dorset. It was a bit of a struggle, but I got there eventually. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Beautiful and delicate Mycena sp. (probably M. capillaris?) on Beech litter. New Forest, November 2025 #fungi #NewForest

The amazing Purplepore Bracket (Trichaptum abietinum). Nondescript from above, astonishingly violet from below. On fallen pine a couple of weeks ago. November 2025. Surrey. #fungi #FungiFriends 💜

Another of today’s Neolithic sites, visited while walking the South Dorset Ridgeway. This is Kingston Russell stone circle constructed around 4000 years ago. And look at that weather ! #dorset #stones #neolithic #StoneCircle

I visited several Neolithic sites while walking the South Dorset Ridgeway today. This is the Hell Stone, a long barrow constructed between 6000 and 4500 years ago. #dorset #stones #neolithic #LongBarrow

Another magnificent example of Candlesnuff fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon), with Deadman’s Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) in the background. Powerstock NR, Dorset today 20/11/25 #fungi #FungiFriends @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

It’s a Raven day 🖤

Slime mould Diderma hemisphaericum, with a pencil and 50 pence piece for scale - they’re quite small !! Found in the garden today on Cotoneaster leaves. #SlimeMould #dorset

Tricholoma sulphureum, the Sulphur Knight. It used to be referred to as the Gas Works Mushroom because of its unpleasant smell, but that just seemed to attract this fly (anyone know what it is?) Deciduous woodland, New Forest. #fungi #NewForest

It seemed ambitious to try for a coastal #thewinter10 but I was surprised what was still in flower. Everything photographed at Cogden Beach (part of Chesil Beach) this weekend. See ALT text #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Beautiful (but very difficult to focus on) Parrot Waxcaps (Gliophorus psittacinus) in a Surrey churchyard. #fungi #waxcap #FungiFriends

This Beech tree may be dead, but it’s far from lifeless!! What an amazing array of fungi (and slime moulds) found on just one log. See ALT text for some attempted IDs. #fungi #NewForest 12/11/25

Sadly doomed after being washed up following stormy weather, but amazing to see nonetheless. These extraordinary Goose Barnacles (Lepas anatifera) at West Bay, Dorset yesterday 13/11/25 #crustacean

Artomyces pyxidatus (crown-tipped coral fungus), I think. On a large rotting Beech trunk, yesterday in the New Forest. #fungi #NewForest #FungiFriends

Always a treat to find Cordyceps militaris (Scarlet Caterpillarclub) #fungi #NewForest #FungiFriends

It’s a Raven day 🖤

The fabulous Ear-pick fungus (Auriscalpium vulgare), today on a pine cone in a Surrey wood. 11/11/25 #fungus #fungifriends

The amazing colours of today’s woodland walk - mixed pine, birch and heathland, Surrey/Hampshire border 11/11/25 #fungi See ALT text.

In an urban setting this week for #thewinter10 This small patch of former industrial land in Port Talbot always has something interesting to offer. See ALT text #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Snowy Waxcaps on a piece of former industrial land on the outskirts of Port Talbot, South Wales. I love watching these places revert to nature ! #fungi #fungifriends

The moon looking amazing, just after dawn this morning 8/11/25 #moon

I think this might be Ascocoryne cylichnium - Budding Jellydisc (rather than the more usual A. sarcoides, Purple Jellydisc). On rotting wood in a Dorest woodland. 1/11/25 #fungi #dorset #powerstock

A beautiful little piece of summer sunshine, still in flower, for @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #WildflowerHour Dorset 2/11/25

I grabbed my phone, a clip-on macro lens and focussed on the smaller fungi (and a slime mould) in a wet Dorset wood. See ALT text for more detail 😎 Powerstock NR 1/11/25 #dorset #fungi @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

A beautiful piece of a very common fungus, Xylaria hypoxylon (Candlesnuff fungus). Dorset 1/11/25 #fungi #FungiFriends