Jelly Ear and Millipedes

Morecambe Bay and crepuscular rays from Castlebarrow.

In January I did a lot of local walks, not venturing far from home. Since January, the same generally applies, although I have occasionally been a bit further afield. It’s partly laziness, I know, but also, when the forecast is for mixed weather, which it often has been, it makes sense to save time, and petrol, by walking locally, with the added advantage that I can scoot home if it really does turn unpleasant.

Warton Crag and Silverdale from Castlebarrow.

And then there’s just the fact that I enjoy walking in this area. There’s always something to see. Even on a short wander in Eaves Wood. Especially when you take a closer look. So, for example, I was examining this Jelly Fungus…

Jelly Ear fungus in Eaves Wood.

When I noticed the millipedes crawling on the surface of one of them.

Eyed Flat-backed Millipedes.

To my untutored eye, these look like Nanogona polydesmoides, which is the Eyed Flat-backed Millipede, or the False Flat-backed Millipede, depending on which website you believe. The website of the British Myriapod and Isopod Group – millipedes are Myriapods, apparently – lists well over eighty species of millipede, but these seem quite distinctive, so it’s at least possible that my identification is correct. Millipedes are detritivores; creatures which feed on decaying organic matter. I think it’s fair to say that these Jelly Ear fungus were, at the very least, on the turn.

Jelly Ear fungus is allegedly edible; I tried it in a restaurant once and whenever I recall that meal I always remember the wise words of Michael J. ‘Crocodile’ Dundee: “Well, you know, you can live on it, but it tastes like shit”. I’ve seen the words ‘rubbery’ and ‘gelatinous’ used to describe the texture of these toadstools and neither of them seem like good companions to the word ‘appetising’.

The following day I started out in Eaves Wood again, in very gloomy conditions, and was somewhat surprised when I reached Bottom’s Lane to notice that lots of blue had appeared in the skies behind me…

Brightening skies over Eaves Wood.

I was pretty confident that I would find Stinking Hellebore about to flower near Silverdale Green, because they appear on the verge here every year…

Stinking Hellebore.

Since they even beat the Snowdrops, in the flowering stakes, they always feel like the first proper sign of spring, and so I’m always disproportionately pleased to see them.

A Heald Brow pony.

Buoyed up by the improving weather, I continued over Heald Brow and then down an exceptionally muddy, slippery path to the end of Quaker’s Stang, heading for Jenny Brown’s Point.

Carnforth Salt Marsh and Clougha Pike from Heald Brow.

A shower in the Bay, from Jenny Brown’s Point.

More fungi.

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December: All Wrapped Up.

Warton Crag from near Jenny Brown’s Point.

Another cheating post! (Apparently) Which will bring 2022 to a close on the blog at long last.

Actually, these first two photos are from the tail end of November and one of our regular Jenny Brown’s Point circulars.

TBH on her way to Jenny Brown’s Point.

Then we jump forward a bit to a snowy weekend in December and a couple of late local wanders.

A snowy day in Middlebarrow Wood.

Ice on seedheads.

Beech leaves.

Arnside Tower.

The following day, some of the snow had melted in the sunshine, but a little was still clinging on elsewhere…

Eaves Wood.

Beech leaves catching the last of the sun.

Looking towards Clougha from near the Pepper Pot.

Sunset and Morecambe Bay.

The Pepper Pot.

The Cove.

A layer of ice over mud.

I had high hopes that the ice would hold and keep me out of the mud. It didn’t.

Morecambe Bay.

Hampsfell from ‘the beach’.

Just before Christmas, Little S tested positive for Covid. Subsequently, I felt very ill myself, but kept testing negative. Subsequently, my GP has told me that I probably did have Covid.

We still met up at Gearstones just before Christmas with all the usual suspects, but I have no photos to show for it because, still feeling rotten, I generally stayed inside and didn’t brave the snowy weather. It was great to see everyone, none-the-less.

Christmas Day Roe Deer.

With hindsight, I perhaps shouldn’t have fetched my Mum and Dad to spend Christmas with us, but it was fabulous to see them and I don’t seem to have passed on the lurgy.

Christmas Day Rainbow.

Cold and damp on Morecambe Prom.

Whit’s End II

Dame’s Violet, Green Alkanet, Cow Parsley, Buttercups, Docks.

The next time I escaped from the woes joys of decorating, I managed a slightly longer walk. I think I wanted to visit this little scrap of verge where Elmslack Lane becomes Castle Bank and I knew I would find Dame’s Violet flowering.

From there I walked along Inman’s Lane along the bottom edge of Eaves Wood, then along the Row. Inevitably, I was heading for…

Lambert’s Meadow.

Mating Crane flies. Possibly Tipula oleracea which is common and favours damp grasslands.

It’s quite easy to ignore Crane Flies, Daddy-Long-Legs; they’re common and plentiful, their larvae – leatherjackets – are a garden pest and I think some people are freaked out by their ridiculously long legs. But I thought the silvery-grey hue of this amorous pair, and the golden iridescence caught in the wings of the lower partner where very fetching.

Ichneumonid Wasp?

I think this is an Ichneumonid wasp. It could be a sawfly, a digger wasp or a spider-hunting wasp, but on balance I’m going for an Ichneumon. After that I’m struggling. Apparently, there are around 2500 British species. Identifying them requires a microscope and an expert. Most species are parasitoids, meaning that they lay their eggs in other species of insects, caterpillars and grubs, and the larvae will eat and eventually kill the host. From my limited reading, I get the impression that each species of wasp will specialise in preying on the caterpillar or larvae of one particular species.

Mating Chrysolina polita. Perhaps.

Some of the photos which follow are bound to look familiar, if you read my last post. Hardly surprising that if you walk in the same place just a couple of days apart, the bugs and beasties which are about and active are likely to be the same each time.

Mating Chrysolina polita. Perhaps.

Weevil, possibly Phyllobius pomaceus.

Ichneumon Wasp?

A Honey Bee. I think.

Scorpion Fly, female.

Scorpion Fly, female.

Sawfly, Tenthredo mesomelas. Possibly.

Troilus luridus.

I’m reasonably confident that this Shield Bug is Troilus luridus. I’ve seen this given the common name ‘Bronze Shield Bug’ online, but my Field Guide gives another species that title, so I’ll stick with the latin name.

Green Shield Bug.

I took lots of photos of this Green Shield Bug and as a result was lucky enough to catch it in the act of taking wing…

Green Shield Bug.

You can see how the outer wings have adapted as a cover for the hind wings, so that when they’re on a leaf or a stem it’s hard to imagine that they even have wings.

Hoverfly.

Variable Damselfly, female, I think.

Variable Damselflies are not listed in the handy booklet ‘An Atlas and Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Arnside and Silverdale AONB’, a publication whose long title completely belies its actual brevity. So, if this is a Variable Damselfly, which I think it is, the species must have fairly recently arrived in the area.

Green-veined White on Ragged Robin.

Greenbottle.

Another female Variable Damselfly on Guelder Rose.

Chrysolina polita. I think.

Dandelion Clock.

Silver-ground Carpet Moth.

White-lipped Snail.

A very different White-lipped Snail.

Brown-lipped Snail.

Nettle leaf with rust fungus – Puccinia urticata?

Later in the day, a double rainbow from our garden.

Easter Hols Are Here

Eaves Wood – Inman’s Road – Hawes Water – Moss Lane – The Row – Bank Well – Lambert’s Meadow – Burtonwell Wood – The Green – Clifftop Path – Hollins Lane – Heald Brow – Hollins Lane – Woodwell – Bottom’s Wood – Spring Bank

Inman’s Road in Eaves Wood.

Wych Elm seeds. I think.

Toothwort.

Heading down towards Hawes Water.

Clougha Pike and Carnforth salt-marsh from Heald Brow.

Backlit daffs.

New honeysuckle leaves.

The first day of our Easter break and, having overslept, I opted for a local walk rather than heading to the Lakes.

The Aftermath of Arwen

A post to (almost) clear-up November. On three successive weekends TBH and I got out for short local walks. Here she is on what was evidently a glorious Sunday at the Pepper Pot.

The week before, the day after my exhausting wander around Gait Barrows in the sun, we completed our standard Jenny Brown’s circuit.

It was a grey day and the only photographs I took were of these large toadstools growing on a tree in Sharp’s Lot.

On the final weekend in November A had a challenging journey, during storm Arwen, to collect B and I from a do at Kirkby Rugby club. Then, at around 2am, TBH and I were out in the gale, dismantling the trampoline which had begun the evening at the bottom of the garden, but which was now flying around our patio (which is several feet higher than the lawn where it started). The storm did quite a bit of damage – knocking out the downpipe from our gutters, moving a shed a few inches, destroying a section of fence as well as a gate etc. What’s more, we were without electricity for a quite a while – not quite 24 hours.

The path through the fields behind the house was closed due to felled telephone and powerlines, but since I could see all of the fallen lines, and avoid them, I decided to go that way anyway. One of the line of oaks had fallen…

And another, larger oak was down in the fields between Bottom’s Lane and The Row…

It was quite sad to see these trees, which I’ve photographed so many times, so swiftly destroyed.

We were actually meant to be away on this Sunday – TBH had managed to transfer our hotel booking from our postponed anniversary celebration a month before. But we didn’t get off until after dark, because B had an emergency appointment due to a suspected broken nose – a rugby injury. We might as well have gone anyway: the doctor told B that, since his breathing wasn’t affected, he could get his nose straightened out when he stops playing rugby, but not before.

Anyway, we did eventually get away – more about our brief trip in my next post.

Thirty Photos in Search of an Author.

The Bay and Grange from Middlebarrow W

Unusually, for my recent posts, all of these photos are from a single lazy local walk, a few miles spaced out over several hours, during which I took lots of photos and stopped for several brews.

Bugle.

Sun-dappled path through Middlebarrow Wood.

Mayflowers.

Arnside Tower doorway.

The view from Arnside Tower over Silverdale Moss to Beetham Fell.

Green Hellebore in Middlebarrow Wood.

I don’t think I’ve noticed the large size of the seeds which develop inside the flowers.

Sweet Woodruff.

Herb Paris.

Reed beds at Silverdale Moss.

Paddock near Far Waterslack.

Buttercups.

Daisies (of the Galaxy?)

Dove’s-foot Crane’s-bill.

Quite clever of this tiny flower to incorporate both the names of two birds and two hyphens in its name.

Heading towards Hawes Water.

A swimmer.

I managed quite a bit of swimming this summer, but am still jealous of this solitary bather, since I’ve never swum in Hawes Water. It’s quite hard to see how you could get in through the reeds, although a couple of the houses on Moss Lane have private jetties.

Bird’s-eye Primroses growing in some of the cleared land. Vindication of Natural England’s tree-felling policy?

Femal Mallard.

Tadpoles and fish in the stream between Little Hawes Water and Hawes Water.

Azure Damselfly (I think).

Bluebells, Gait Barrows.

Limestone Pavement, Gait Barrows

Angular Solomon’s-Seal growing in a grike.

Looking towards Trowbarrow from a brew stop.

Eaves Wood.

Inman Oaks.

Blue Tit. I watched blue tits going in and out of this fissure last spring. I wonder of it was the same pair nesting this year?

This Nuthatch was also in-and-out, of a neighbouring tree, presumably bringing food to a nest.

Male Blackbird on our garden wall.

Loopy

Eaves Wood

The first of May, the Saturday of the Bank Holiday weekend. The weather was obviously a bit changeable with some sunshine, but some very dark clouds and showers about too. I managed to eke out 5 miles by walking small loops, returning to the house each time; one through Eaves Wood, one via the Cove and the Lots, and finally which took me to Woodwell.

Morecambe Bay from the Cove

Green-winged Orchid on the Lots.

I think this might be an Acer, but I’m not good at garden plants. I liked the cheerful colours though.

Coralroot.

I’m always happy to spot the mauve flowers of Coralroot. I knew that it probably wasn’t native to this area, but didn’t realise just how rare it is in the UK.

Coralroot distribution map. Blue dots show native populations.

Bottoms Wood, decked out with Wild Garlic.

New Beech leaves

Ominous clouds and the distant Howgill Fells.

This last photo was the last of several failed attempts to catch the drama of these dark clouds with one tiny cloud on the right really catching the sun and shining quite brightly. It was quite a sight.

I would be heading out in the direction of the Howgills the following day.

Early March

Well, I must have gone back to work. I mean physically back to work, rather than working from home. Until March I’d been out for a walk most days, but then the wheels came off. Working for a living is highly inconvenient. Anyway – here’s most of March:

The 1^st

Spring! I’m sure that the celandines had been flowering for a while at this point, and the Cuckoo Pint leaves hadn’t recently appeared on the floor of Eaves Wood…

Maybe it was the blue skies and sunshine which made me pay attention to them. And to the wash of yellow catkins on the Hazel trees.

I do remember showing TBH the tiny red male flowers, like little starfish, on the Hazels, which apparently she hadn’t seen before.

There’s a garden on The Row which has an amazing display of crocuses every year, which I always make a point of going to see.

Obligatory photo of The Cove

The 2^nd

A walk around Gait Barrows most memorable for this pair of Buzzards. I’ve become very wary (well frightened, if I’m honest) of these birds, having been attacked a few times by highly aggressive/protective tiercels during the nesting season. On the other hand, they are beautiful birds, and I’m drawn to them, like a moth to the flame perhaps. So here, I was gradually creeping towards the tree they were perched in, hoping that it was too early in the year for them to take umbrage, but also half hiding behind a small hummock, the top of which can be seen in the photo.

The light, unfortunately, was a bit rubbish, which doesn’t really square with these two views of Hawes Water…

…which can’t have been taken very long afterwards.

The 5^th

I must have been a bit late leaving the house, since the sun was already setting.

Post sunset light from Castlebarrow.

The 6^th

To the Pepper Pot and then The Cove with TBH and ‘Little S’.

One of those days when the a layer of cloud coverage had a very visible edge with clear skies beyond.

The 7^th

Green Hellebore near Far Arnside.

A walk around the coast to Arnside for a pie with TBH. No return over the Knott however and not many photos either.

I’m assuming that there followed a couple of weeks of very iffy weather, because I don’t seem to have got out much until later in the month. Or a couple of weeks of extreme lassitude on my part. Or both.

A February Florilegium

So: Operation Catch-up is underway. February gets just a single post. Lots of short walks in February, nothing much further than 5 miles and often shorter than that. No ascents of Arnside Knot, but endless trips to Jenny Brown’s Point. I see, from MapMyWalk, that there were a couple of spells when I didn’t get out for several days running – I think a combination of work, inclement weather and decorating were to blame (decorating, I have decided, is one of TBH’s hobbies). As far as I remember, I only left the immediate area once all month.

I think it’s fair to say that the weather was quite variable, as you might expect in February, but as my photos show, there was some blue sky about too from time to time.

The 1^st

A distant view of the Howgills

The Dale and The Forest of Bowland from Castlebarrow.

The 2^nd

A had a physio appointment in Lancaster. Whilst she was there, I took the opportunity to have a wander around Williamson Park and the grounds of the University of Cumbria (in Lancaster, in Lancashire, I know?).

Williamson Park fountain.

The Ashton Memorial

The view over Lancaster and Morecambe to the Lakes from the Ashton Memorial. Shame about the light.

The 4^th

TBH and I were out for our habitual circuit via The Cove and The Lots. We met A walking with her friend S, The Tower Captain’s daughter, and their dogs Hanley and Bramble.

Dark cloud sunset from The Lots

The 5^th

Silverdale Moss from the rim of Middlebarrow Quarry.

A flooded path in Middlebarrow Wood.

Late light at Hawes Water.

The 6^th

A Charm of Goldfinches.

Silverdale Moss.

The 7^th

Leaden skies over Eaves Wood.

A fierce hail shower.

Drifted hail by Quicksand Pool.

The 8^th

Clougha Pike from Heald Brow.

The 9^th

Snowdrops.

A couple of hedgerows close to home were cut right back, down to the ground, but the roots weren’t dug out, I don’t think, so hopefully they’ll eventually grow back. (Must check on their progress.)

I love the shape of the oaks when their branches are bare.

Late light from Castlebarrow

The 10^th

Several different breeds of sheep here; I think the large one in the middle foreground is a Valais Blacknose sheep, presumably enjoying the ‘Alpine’ conditions in Silverdale. I’ve been racking my brains trying to remember wether I ever noticed any sheep like this when, years ago, I holidayed in Saas Fee, in the Valais Canton of Switzerland, but I can’t recall.

Sunset from Castlebarrow.

Post sunset from The Lots.

The 11^th

One of several photos I attempted to take of the sky, which had some interesting colours, during a wander around Middlebarrow Woods, where it’s quite hard to find a view which is uninterrupted by trees.

The 12^th

Warton Crag from the Salt Marsh.

This view was massively enhanced by the presence of a large flock of birds, which, unfortunately, were too far away to show up very well in the photograph.

Sunset from Quicksand Pool.

And from Jack Scout.

The 13^th

A photograph taken from much the same place as the one two above. A very high tide.

The Forest of Bowland across Quicksand Pool.

Warton Crag from close to the old Copper Smelting Works chimney.

The cliffs of Jack Scout, Grange-Over-Sands and a distant view of snowy Coniston Fells.

The 14^th

High Tide again! Warton Crag across Quicksand Pool.

The 15^th

A gloomy day. Grange-Over-Sands from The Cove late in the day.

The 16^th

The same view the next day. Looking much brighter here…

But it turned wet later. With TBH and Little S on Castlebarrow.

The 21^st

A walk across the sands, the first for quite some time, with TBH and A, from The Cove to Know Point. It was clearly ‘blueing up’ as Andy often says, so I tried to persuade them both to carry on around Jenny Brown’s Point with me, but I think lunch was calling, so I had to settle for continuing on my own.

The chimney again.

The grassy bank here was been eroding rapidly, revealing this clearly man made feature. Apparently there was once a small wharf here – could this be a remnant?

The 22^nd

The Forest of Bowland from Heald Brow.

The 25^th

Plenty of rain in February – the two seasonal springs at the Cove were both flowing freely.

Looking to Grange again.

Late light from Castlebarrow.

The 26^th

Heald Brow again.

Late afternoon light on Warton Crag and Quicksand Pool.

The stone seat at Jack Scout.

Looking towards Morecambe and Heysham from Jack Scout.

Sunset from Jack Scout.

The 28^th

High tide at Quicksand Pool again.

A scramble on the rocks required to get to Jenny Brown’s Point.

The two small figures on the water are on stand-up paddle boards, the toy of choice this summer it seems. It looked idyllic, I have to say. We debated whether we could use our inflatable kayaks in a similar fashion – we haven’t done to date, but maybe this reminder will galvanise some action on my part?

Snow?

I know – it’s very odd that I’m posting pictures of our snowy garden when the country is currently experiencing a heatwave. What’s more, whilst I’ve been dashing off whole weeks with a single post, this post only covers the first of two Saturday walks at the end of the working week covered in the previous post.

We all get a bit excited when we have snow, it’s fairly infrequent here, but none more so than A. Here she is making an early morning snowman.

She joined TBH and I for a wander in Eaves Wood, which was surprisingly quiet.

There was almost no view at all from the Pepper Pot, the cloud was very low.

Spot the Robin!

A made another snowman.

Weirdly, although it remained very cloudy for most of the day, when we walked down to The Cove, we briefly had an outbreak of blue sky and sunshine.

The Lots were very busy with young and old. The humps and hollows there are perfect for some fairly safe sledging.

St. John’s.

In the afternoon, I was out again, on my tod, but that will have to wait for my next post.