I went for a walk in the rain...

It was dusk and I needed some solitude so I set out up the hill.  It started to rain but this didn't deter me.

I saw so much beauty, a few examples of which I will share.

 

Jelly ears

 You all know about the strange juxtaposition between my ardent hatred of eating mushrooms and yet my fascination with looking for fungus to photograph.

Well, during my walks this year, I've been determined to find Jelly ears fungus. I've seen pictures of it on the internet and it is so strange that it really does look like human ears. It's one of those things where you really want to see something with your own eyes to prove its true.  And this year, every single walk has involved me looking out for it. In all my Spring and Autumn walks, I've been disappointed not to see it. I've seen other fungus but not this.

It's true the way they say that you find something when you stop looking for it and that happened today.

As we entered a small wood, on the very first tree on my right, I spied some jellyish fungus which I stopped to scrutinize. As I took pictures, I suddenly realised that it was JELLY EARS!!!! At last!

Here are some pictures for you to behold the weirdness that is this fungus. It really has made my day, week, month, year! Strange the things that please us, eh?

What do you think of Jelly Ears?

Swallowship

There is something so wonderfully calming about being in a English forest or woods.  There is a hushed stillness and a great sense of awe at the majesty of the stature of such ancient trees.  That feeling of being small when you stand alongside them but there is a wonderful benevolence.  Trees do so much for us.  Some of my happiest walks have been in woods and forests.  One of my favourite parts of our honeymoon in Switzerland was a wonderful walk in the woods in Zeneggen where are Squirrel dropped an incredibly large pine cone onto my head!  

When we recently visited Hexham, I eluded to my walk in Swallowship, the woods on the hill above Hexham.

Here are a few photos from my walk so you can enjoy them too.

 

If you go down to the woods today...

On Saturday, we headed out for a short walk around a pretty woodland area in Danbury. If you find Well Lane it comes off there.  Come with me and see what delights we spied along the way.

 Some fallen trees had been decorated and turned into houses.

 Many a den had been built by the Scouts.

 The lakes were beautiful and serene though there were few ducks to be seen.

 Blossom bedecked the trees who stood listless without a breeze.

 We spied some new cottage gardens outside the walls of the Danbury Palace new housing.

 There were many inviting looking specimens to examine.

 Further on into the woodland, Bluebells could be glimpsed.

 We headed towards the beautiful, vivid, red Rhododendrons and spied new bee hives.

 The old ice-house from Palace life is there as a monument to the past.

 A picnic table, newly emblazoned with national pride.

 A sparse carpet of Bluebells but one must tread gingerly through their  blue-hued beauty to avoid damage.

 The mantle of foliage upon this trunk,

 A young Moorhen chick follows Mummy cheeping around the lake.

A walk is never a chore when there are beautiful sights to be seen, Nuthatches to hear and friends to accompany.

xxx

Rhapsody in Blue

 There is no beauty to compare to the sight of a dell of bluebells. One of the greatest treasures of Spring.

 One of my favourite books, I capture the Castle was adapted for TV and I always remember the line. "Do you smell Bluebells, Rose?"
"I smell heaven!"

 And today, for the first time, my mother and I smelt that scent- who could not, surrounded by all these exquisite flowers!

 They stretched in all directions- beautiful proud, yet humble simultaneously.

 The carpet of blue is just astounding and I felt it was such a privilege to be there to see them. Only the 3rd time in my adult life I have seen such a sight.

 There may be a massive collection of photos here but each flower deserves its chance to shine, to be appreciated, to be swooned over and to enrapture your day.

 Up close, you see their delicate beauty- that exquisite bell shape- a soft ringing in silence.

 And collectively, a carpet of blue fit for a king.

 Enjoy the rest, without my wittering. There is nowhere else in the world that has our English Bluebells and we must protect them.