A Sunday Walk - Signs of Autumn

Its been ages since I've joined in on Fungi Friday, and it looks like I missed it for this week (so I'm gonna push it through on a Mushroom Monday and hope nobody notices 😉)

A few weeks back I went out for a walk with my partner with the aim of finding mushrooms, and to cut a long story short, we failed.

Since then, my partner has returned to continue her studies at university, and I've been left to get on with work etc. Its all become a bit boring, and I miss the random goings out that we used to do. It helps that she drives, whereas now I am on my own I am more limited in where I can travel to.

Sulphur Tuft

Today I decided that enough was enough. I got my camera stuff together (I chose the 24-105mm L-series as the 'walkabout lens') and headed out to have a walk around the village.

It is a good time of year to see mushrooms, and who knows what else I might see?

I started right outside my front door... with the above Sulphur Tuft looking a little 'past its prime'. I have mentioned these before in this post in 2020. In that post were 5 other species of mushroom, none of which are seen here today. No idea why, presumably the species didn't have the right food source or growing conditions?

However there was a new species today...

Unknown species - maybe a type of fibrecap?

This decent sized mushroom was just a bit further along from the Sulphur Tuft... and I have no idea what it is.

its been a while since I've looked closely at fungi, I'm evidently out of practice!

Unknown species - maybe a type of fibrecap?

The closest I can see is possibly a type of Fibrecap?

Yep... definitely out of practice. I think I'm gonna have to go back out and see if I can get a shot of the gills etc to see if I can find a starting point.

Moving on, I headed round the corner to a patch of grass near where I catch the bus to go to work. There are a couple of beech trees here, and of course plenty of fallen leaves due to the passing of the seasons. In between the leaves I spotted 3 perfectly white mushrooms.

White Dapperling - Leucoagaricus leucothites

Ah, now this is quite a nice, clean picture. I'm pretty sure it is a White Dapperling...

White Dapperling - Leucoagaricus leucothites

Here you can see the slight yellowing on the stipe (the stem of the mushroom)

..and here is the thin 'skirt' which is a reference to the narrow ridge halfway up the stipe itself.

Pretty certain of this ID

which doesn't mean anything by the way, always do your own research when looking at mushrooms, and if you are in anyway unsure of what it is... DO NOT EAT IT!

Public Service Announcement done, lets continue!

Where were we?

Oh yes, autumn leaves.

I had now moved on to the edge of the village, where I found this little patch of green. Its kind of a community area, and mostly its a place for locals to walk their dogs

I was lucky today, no dog walkers were around so I was free to have a look at some of the trees and bushes here... lots of pretty autumnal colours to appreciate.

And in between all these were plenty of mushrooms

most of which i struggled to Identify again...sigh

Brown Roll-rim? - I think anyway, although this specimen was a bit ropey

yeah, I think Brown Roll-rim is a reasonable guess!

No idea on the next set of mushrooms. All rather slimey to touch, so I hazard a guess at a type of waxcap?

Even a shot of the underside doesn't help

And I can't ID this pair of 'shrooms either...

Oh I know this... these are LEAVES!

I'm not totally rubbish!

Anyway, totally bamboozled... I headed onwards to the next location.

(its taken me over an hour to walk 200 meters, at least there has been plenty to look at even though I don't have a clue what it is I'm looking at haha)

Heading out of the village, and down Bloxholme Lane, I spy 2 more small mushrooms, nestled in the long grass.

At this point I'm stopped trying to name everything... I do know that the below berries are Hawthorn Berries

If this view looks vaguely familiar to some of you, then its because I have taken photos of it before. This is the path which links the village to the nearby Bypass, and it is where I run fairly regularly.

On a recent run home, I was surprised to see some mushrooms on growing on the side of the grass verge (in the distance of the above image).

As a final part of this walk I chose to return to take a closer look...

Stubble Rosegill - Volvariella gloiocephala?

Stubble Rosegill - Volvariella gloiocephala?

Stubble Rosegill - Volvariella gloiocephala?

Stubble Rosegill - Volvariella gloiocephala?

Stubble Rosegill - Volvariella gloiocephala?

They all look different, and yet there are similarities (size, gill spacing, stipe colour) that leads me to believe that all of these are actually the same species of mushroom - Stubble Rosegill

The habitat also fits. It is said to be found on farmland on nutrient rich oil, and there was a long history of arable farming in this location before the bypass was built 2 years ago.

Heading back into the village I then spied these 3 Glistening Inkcaps next to the path.

As ID's go, this one is a little bit easier, looks like I'm not totally awful at this mushroom naming lark (I do concede there is a lot of room for improvement though!)

As I joined the main road, I suddenly noticed these huge black clouds sweeping in from the West.

oh heck, that looks like rain...

And I was right!

No sooner had I power-walked home and shut the front door, then the heavens opened!

Other that that hasty retreat, I'd had a pretty nice wander today. And I think next weekend I really should make a concerted effort to go out again and just see what I can find