Other names: black jelly drops
When to see: October-March (but can be found all year round)
A small, leathery cup-fungus commonly found in clusters on fallen branches/dead trees – particularly oak and beech. Some say they look like liquorice drops (1) or Pontefract cakes (2).
Other names: monk’s head; giant funnel, rickstone funnel cap
When to see: September-December
This common mushroom, with a typical mushroom smell, is found in mixed woodland, often in clearings. They are often found standing in ‘troops’ (straight lines/ranks or arcs) or in rings.
adj.
knotted
chaotic
muddled
twisted
ravelled
snarled
It’s taken a long time for the snow to leave the floor of Breamish Valley. We’ve had icy conditions since 3 January this year and snow on the Cheviots pretty much from the beginning of the New Year too. But, with the slight rise in temperature over the last couple of days, the snow has now more or less melted from the valley floor. However, some snow is still clinging to the backdrop of the Cheviot Hills.
Following on from the fresh, vibrant colours of a Spring Dene and the earth-coloured russets, purples and reds of an autumn Dene it was time for a walk in the muted, monochromes of a winter Crawley Dene today.
After the Spring colouring of My Green Dene in April this year, the autumn colours have now arrived: sumptuous yellows, reds, deep purples, and golden browns. And, in the right light, you can still see some of those exquisite chocolate shadows under the tree canopies along the disused railway line of Crawley Dene.
When I was a kid, and the only cameras available used actual film – no such thing as digital cameras then, oh no – you had to shoot in bright light. Well, not strictly true – but if you didn’t have the means to buy an expensive camera and an expensive film that could be used in low light, well, you simply had to shoot in bright light. That’s why so many of us have old black and white photos in our family collections that appear to be over-exposed, burned out or with far too much contrast between the blacks and the whites. Too much contrast and you loose the detail: those subtle textures and structures that lurk in the shadows.
A set of car keys was found on the railway line in Crawley Dene at 8:00am on 21 April (see photo).
The keys have been left at the Hedgeley Services Garage in Powburn where they can be collected.
Mmm…anyone having that ‘Groundhog Day’ feeling? Like you’ve walked this path before? Like you’ve cycled this route before? Like your once-a-day exercise takes you pretty much around the same places…as beautiful as our surroundings are?
Well, perhaps we’ve just got to see things differently? So, I took my own advice and I looked at my green Dene afresh today…
Too windy to ride my bike for my once-a-day exercise yesterday, so off I went to the Crawley Dene out from Powburn, heading south and loosely following the Shawdon Burn. The day before, I’d concentrated on looking up and saw a Breamish buzzard. Yesterday, however, I focused on looking down – and what a sight! Crawley Dene becoming green so quickly after the vernal equinox:
