In our garden there are a couple of rotten, dead trees. One of them is an elderberry. This is it. OK – I know it’s not playing a starring role in the shot but nonetheless the “host” of this fungus is indeed an elderberry. It’s amazingly tenacious, hanging onto life by its fingertips with new shoots coming up beside and out of what looks like completely rotten, dead timber.

Most of it got blown over a year or so ago and has been obstructing one of our paths ever since and we’ve been too busy focusing on other stuff to deal with it. It’s in a dark corner, where a pile of MMs nasty old tat still lurks and to be honest, it’s not a place you’d choose as one to have a good time in. It’s damp and cold too.

Today, I was ambling through the garden, trying to get some medicine inside me, I ventured into that dark, damp, cold place and I saw this, known, according to my mushrooms and toadstools book, as a “Jew’s Ear”. According to the book, they live on dead elderberry – bingo – are present in winter and spring – bingo – and look just like this…..so I think we have a match.

Also spotted today in this garden – a Great Spotted Woodpecker on the nut feeder, having a feast. It was there for several minutes and we got a really good look at it. Delightful. Spotted just across the border, a Buzzard (not rare at all around here but even now, after a couple of years of being close neighbours, I am still charmed and thrilled every time I see one. Yesterday a fox, as bold as brass, was ambling across our next-door field. Ooohhh – this means we have to take extra care of our chooks. Especially as we have fencing down in the high winds.

Last year - filthy feet!