Our first weekend of December arrived with an icy blast of air from the Artic. Overnight temperatures fell to –3c on Friday and –5c on Saturday and with the clear skies we expected very thick frosts. So it was a surprise to find that we only had a light dusting but enough to brighten the Brambles and meadow grasses…..
Whilst air temperatures failed to improve above 2c the sun soon melted the frost on the now bare woodland canopy, with one lone Crows nest having managed to survive the recent high winds…….
Birch Bracket fungi is common on Silver Birch in our woods and whilst not the most spectacular of the fungi I still find them fascinating admiring just how such large ‘brackets’ cling to the trunks via a relatively small foot. I have always imagined that to grow to the sizes they do it must take them some time, may be a month or more. But I first spotted these specimens last week when they were only about 3 inches across and more like a tennis ball growing on the tree. This morning I was very surprised to see that a dramatic increase in their size…now some 15 to 18 inches across and a splendid mix of browns and fawns……
Not sure what purpose they serve as they rarely seem to be nibbled by any animals, they just cling on till the tree final has nothing left to give them.
2nd DECEMBER
DAVID OAKES - IMAGES. 