Well yesterday was such a terrible washout - the poor dog only got one ten minute run around the field oppostie and she and I virtually swam back home and then dripped huge puddles over the floor. She wasn't even keen on going in the garden in the "monsoon". So today James and I took her for a long walk in Norsey Wood. Its a favorite walk of ours since getting Mille as our previous two places to walk don't allow dogs (Hyde Hall and Hanningfield Reservoir) and we had long planned to walk here but never got round to it. I'm very glad we did as nobody had ever told me it was a Chestnut wood - here is todays haul!
I have some roasting in the Aga right now and the rest have been cooked, peeled and frozen for later use - the supermarkets charge good money for them and a short walk into the wood gives you access to as many as you want!
I often wish I knew more about Fungi when I'm walking and today was no exception - I saw a few nice looking ones which I half thought I recognised as edible and then I saw this chap (actually afterwards I saw a few more of these!). I thought it was spectacular and that the red probably indicated it wasn't safe to eat - although I've heard that most fungi in the UK are pretty OK. Since then I've had a bit of a search and found out it is considered poisonous although dried it sounds interesting! . I'd really like to go on a course or something to learn more about fungi as I fear my foraging is missing out by not including them.
Of course after the downpours yesterday the wood was very muddy - James and I were OK in our wellies but Mille came back a very dirty girl, just look at the colour of her paws!
After a bath she smells lovely and she looks so pretty as a curly girly, it was a shame to brush her.
James as ever likes to do things his way - he went round the wood in his police outfit and told me this tree was his "church" So he stood and prayed as well as touching his poppy and saying he remembered.
]]>
