December and the shortest days.

There were a few cold days at the beginning of December with frost still evident at midday.  Apart from that first week, temperatures were very mild until Boxing Day and the forest floor is still green with bramble leaves.  I love walking in a frosted landscape under the low winter sun and those first crisp days were a delight to the eye.  A Robin perching on the fence by the entrance to the sawmill's track completed a classic winter scene.

A Robin perched on the fence at the entrance to the sawmill's track, a classic winter image.

The seasonal visitors to the private pool on the Apedale Road have mostly moved on, though a couple of the Canada Geese seem to have decided to stay.  I was lucky enough to get closer than usual to the Moorhens on this pool, allowing reasonable photographs.

Early December - Moorhens on the banks of the Apedale Road private pool, the ground still frozen at midday.

Lichen and small tree fungi often go unnoticed until a splash of light picks them out.  Common Orange Lichen is wonderful to behold, especially in close up.  I didn't notice the small pink and red spots of Red Brain Fungus growing on a nearby tree until I pushed into the hedgerow to get the photo of the lichen.

The complex form of Common Orange Lichen.

Red Brain Fungus growing on a small branch.

I don't think I can remember the forest floor being so green at this time in past years.  I presume it is the mild weather that has persuaded the brambles to stay green.  Some of the leaves are pale and fresh and it is clear that the plants are even putting out new shoots.  It is still not uncommon to see blackberry blossom.

 Though the bracken has died back the forest floor is green with brambles, there is even blossom still to be seen.

A splash of colour, flowering brightly here and there, is the reliable Gorse.  It is never seen in the large masses that blaze their yellows on Peak District hillsides, but individual shrubs do dot Apedale.

Gorse, ever in flower somewhere.

Two of the expected seasonal greens are the Holly and the Ivy.  The Ivy climbs in pillars in the woods and creeps along the drystone walls that are often hidden by sprawling hedgerow plants in warmer times.  Though holly's green is seen often in the hedgerows and woods, there are few berries, except on one tree that I know of.  That tree is a magnificent exception and provides a cheery splash of colour in a landscape that is often a little drab of late.

Left - Ivy.  Right - Berries on one Holly tree, a magnificent splash of colour.  Seen here with rare blue sky as a background.

There are fewer people about in the area since the weather has become colder and the days shorter.  This has given me the chance to watch birds where they would normally vanish every time a person passes by.   In this way I was fortunate enough to see Nuthatches and Great Tits feeding and a Tree Creeper on a nearby tree.  Though there were no humans to disturb the birds, a squirrel was making its presence felt.  The birds waited a metre or so distant rather than flying away, so I could still see them.  Contrary to popular belief (tree) squirrels do not hibernate so the birds will have to endure the nuisance all winter.

A charming little Nuthatch in Watermill's Wood.

Though the days are still short, it is comforting to know that they are now steadily growing longer, the distinctive scenery is adequate compensation for freezing temperatures for me.

Out of autumn and into winter

While the woods and the hedgerows have been opened up by the leaves' fall, there has been little light around on my walks and runs in Apedale recently.  While birds have been more visible, dark skies dashed any hopes of photographing them.  Despite being overcast, November was warm for the time of year and there were still dragonflies around in the first week.

The few opportunities I have had to walk or run in Apedale recently have all been on overcast days.  I suppose it is that very same grey blanket that has kept the overall temperatures unseasonably high.  Light has been so poor that my compact camera's auto focus has thrown tantrums on occasions.  The warmth and damp conditions have been good for fungi at least.

Honey Fungus (Armillaria mellea)

I encountered a very fine growth of honey fungus on one long dead tree in Watermill's wood.  I don't think I have seen this fungus looking quite so pristine before.  It was growing quite high on the tree trunk and I think this accounted for the excellent state of preservation.

Turkey Tail fungus (Trametes versicolor) growing on a log in Miry Wood.

Until recently, most of the Turkey Tail fungus that I have seen has been old and shriveled.  Fresh growth is now quite plentiful on the logs lying in the clearing in Miry Wood.  There was just enough light, even to get a close up of the pores on the underneath of this fungus (below).

Left: Pores on the underside of a white variety of Turkey Tail Fungus.  Right:  What I think is a Bay Bolete (Boletus badius)

I found what I thought at first were a Ceps in Miry Arena.  They were rather past their best and the wet caps were quite slippery to the touch.  This made me think instead that perhaps they were Slippery Jacks, though they seemed a little pale.  There was no sign of any veil on the stalk,  on closer inspection, which is a feature of Slippery Jacks so I think that they were most likely Bay Boletes.

Wood Ear fungus - Watermills Wood

I found a good growth of Wood Ear Fungus, I have bought this stuff from Wing Yip's in the past, it is more or less tasteless, but prized for its texture in China. I do like it in hot and sour etc.  I left this lot where it was growing, for others to see.  This fungus is also known as Jew's Ear a corruption of Judas's ear, due to the fact that it grows on Elder, the tree Judas hung himself on, and its resemblance to an ear.

I also found more of the 'King Alfred's Cakes' that I saw last month in Burgess' Wood.  Unlike the previous lot, the softer brown type and the bone hard black were growing together here.

While on my run one Sunday, I spotted some small yellow mushrooms growing in the verge at Butters Green/Bignall End.  It was hard to get my camera to focus, but I got a reasonable 'record' shot in the end.  I am not really sure what these mushrooms are, my research suggests that they may be 'False Chanterelles.

I think this may be a  'False Chanterelle' (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca).