1982 September
September 1st
This evening
the sky is cloudy and there are three colours of blue in the
sky. Towards Bolton it is a greeny sea blue, near the house it
is a pale deep blue, and over towards Anglezarke it is a darker
deep blue.
September 2nd
This has been one of the most beautiful days of the year. The sky
has been clear, deep blue with a gentle breeze. At dinner time
if you stood in a sheltered place the sun’s heat was actually
hot.
At the pool below the waterfall I found a drowned bright, light,
green damsel fly. Or was it a lacewing? A few Bilberries are
still left on the bushes and the Heather around the rocks is
simply gorgeous. Deep pink-purple, thick loads of it, and
covered in the sweet-smelling, tiny, flowers: it is the best
‘bit’ of Heather I’ve ever seen! Probably because the place is
sheltered, little known, and catches the sun.
I saw about thirty carrion Crows in a flock over the Lodge Bridge
they flew noisily. It’s the biggest flock I can remember seeing.
September 3rd
It was definitely an Autumn day today. In the morning the sky was
clear blue with grey and white clouds, like waves, to the east.
As they came closer, they appeared like cotton puffs. The dawn
had an orange golden glow. The light was bright.
The Horse Chestnut leaves have become crisp and crinkly. The green
is fading to gold and yellow, sure signs of Autumn. In the
evening the beautiful, mystical, Autumn light, which draws the
colours out of the earth, was everywhere. The sky was deep blue,
and the little puff clouds and the straggly ones were tinted
pink.
I went up to the rain gauge with the dogs. We heard the weird call
of a Nightjar, a bird I have never seen. We sat by the fence for
ages, the dogs’ noses twitching and ears pricked. I felt I
wanted to stay there all night, while Tufty walked up and down
the fence like a climbing frame, but the light faded quickly so
we left. Curlews heralded our return home.
September 5th
The morning
started off cloudy with a blustery breeze but the air soon
became warm, and by afternoon it was warm and sticky. I went
with Philip, by bus, to Wayoh Reservoir. The waters were still,
with few ripples. They were grey, and every now and then a
rising fish made a circle of receding rings. The Fish were
slender, silver, and the one I saw leap up in the water was
about 22 cm long.
Probably the
most rewarding sighting of the day was nine Great Crested
Grebes, all swimming gracefully on the reservoir. A group of
them were fast asleep with heads tucked in their wing feathers.
Three others were hunting fish – I saw one tuck up its body
before plunging head first into the water: I could see the green
webbed feet. Another cruised swiftly through the water just like
a liner. On most I could see the white neck feathers and
chestnut ruff. One or two seemed to have no ruff and mainly grey
plumage. Later I saw four fishing – they seem to be very
dispersed when hunting.
The Great
Crested Grebe is a Prince among water birds. I am pleased to be
able to confirm that there is a thriving colony of these birds
at Edgeworth. I also believe they inhabit the reservoir at
Tockholes.
The banking
around Wayoh is very steep and consists mainly of sand, clay and
loads of broken rocks. On the level mudflat bit there were
massive pink patches of the Redshank Weed. On the road below the
Black Bull there were some clusters of brown Earth Balls. I
picked up some beautifully colourful sprigs of Oak that had
fallen: the leaves were shades of green, orange, yellow and
gold. There were a few cups with small, green acorns.
September 7th
The morning was grey and miserable so I decided to go into town. I
bought Dad a Marks and Spencer Chocolate Cake. I went up the
back with the dogs in the afternoon and later returned on my own
so I could study, draw and try to identify the unusual and
varied fungi that are out. There were some really beautiful
ones. The first I have identified is the Blusher, but it is
poisonous when raw. I would not eat it anyway. I looked again
for the fungus I saw a few days ago which I thought might be a
Death Cap, but apart from the straight white stalk, the rest has
disintegrated. Just as well! I took several photographs which I
only hope turn out.
Dad and I went along the side of the bottom Tockholes reservoir.
The bailiff needed a lot of encouragement to let us go round. I
will write to the Water Authority for permission as I think the
bottom reservoir is the prettiest, and certainly the wood is
beautiful.
Apart from some that
could not be named, Jennifer lists in her diary the following
fungi…
The Blusher. Amanita rulescens. Dark brown blotched surface. White gills stained
brown in places. Faint lines close together on white waist coat.
Interrupted by blotches of white, and lower down brown.
Coprinus Impatiens?
Bell-Shaped, Mottled gill. This fungi has a very matt
appearance. I believe it is
Russula parazurea.
Panaeolus semiovatus.
Boletus fragrans
very rare.
Earth ball by stone bench. Common not edible. The outside is
scarred and course and eventually splits to reveal a mass of
fine, brown, powder like, spores. Found from late summer to
early winter. Scleroderma
citrinum.
Yellow Fungus, irregular circle shape with ginger power on top.
Dorosella fracida
rare.
Wrinkled Club. Clavulina rugosa. White Antler Fungus, by liverwort on the hillside.
Orange Pin Mold.
On a damp mossy bank. Dark brown fungi. A younger one was ginger
in colour. Very abundant below the oaks. Deep depression in the
centre. A bite was taken out. Long, narrow, ginger gills. Rufous
Milk-cap, Lacturius rufus,
or may have been a different species to the others,
Lactarius pterosporus.
Boletus
appendiculatus.
Very round, slightly domed, Orangey-brown glaze like a Chelsea
bun. On a mossy bank.
Very Pale Brown, surface gently domed. Found on a mossy bank.
Agrocybe cylindracea.
Blackish-Purple Russula. Centre, on head of fungi is syrupy
looking. The colour is dark almost like ink in centre and pale
pink toward the outside. Purple-pink pitted surface with hollow
where water had collected. Pure white gills and stem. Flesh
white and firm but deteriorates with age. A very attractive
looking fungi. Russula atropurpurea.
Ginger Brown faint ring. Band of rich brown. Darker ginger
colour. On root of an oak tree.
Boletus appendiculatus.
Uniform light brown. Almost flat surface with a slight
depression in centre. I think this fungi is
Russula parazurea.
Fungi apart, there were some ducks on the reservoirs. The ones I
could identify (forgot binoculars) were Mallards. The bailiff is
a Liverpudleon and doesn't think much of the Rivington Warden.
Who does? He's been there 25 years and we've not spoke to him
before. The water from Tockholes goes through a tunnel and is
piped underground to White Coppice and eventually enters
Anglezarke. Amazing! It is the property of Liverpool Water
Authority.
On the way to Abbey Village I saw loads of pale, lemon yellow,
orange blotched, Toadflax, flowering on either side of the road.
A very unusual and pretty flower. When I got back I took the
dogs for a walk. The Hawthorns at the tip have a few scarlet red
haws on. Up the back today I noticed what a good crop of berries
the Mountain Ash trees have; bright orangey-red and large in
full clusters that look so tempting to pick. There seem to be
very few birds around and most trees don’t yet look to have been
touched. The bracken is changing colour to russets and golden
browns.
September 9th
While walking up Belmont Road I found a dead moth outside a garage.
I think it’s some sort of Hawk Moth. It had a beautiful, shiny
band of olive green on either wing. The far bank of the
reservoir is a mass of grasses and Smooth Hawksbeard flowers.
My Dad brought me three very pretty
Hygrocybe cantharellus fungi home. The longest is about 2½cm tall and the shortest 1 cm. They
are about 8 cm in diameter, bright red with an orange-yellow
dusty surface. The gills are creamy to creamy orange coloured,
well defined and the stalk is red. The cap margin is wavy, the
flesh orange, they were found at Wayoh Reservoir. The edibility
is unknown, and according to Roger Philips they are a rare
species.
Today Tufty caught a small Shrew. It had soft compact brown fur
with black shiny pin prick eyes, small rounded ears close to the
body and small pale, pink, hand like, feet.
September 13th
It has been the most perfect day imaginable with warm sunshine and
deep, clear blue, absolutely cloudless, sky, in the evening.
There is loads of Beech Mast strewn all over the lane. I took
Cindy, the puppies with smart new collars (proper ‘little dogs’)
and moaning, mewing Tufty for a walk on the moor. We met three
silent Carrion Crows at the top of Hill Sixty. The dogs thought
it was great fun bounding over tussocks and through rushes.
Records of numerous
fungi with descriptions; some are unidentified.
Gills brownie-yellow. Flesh white. Smooth - moist sulphur tuft.
Very round caps with slight dome in centre.
Fairies’ Bonnets, Coprinus disseminatus. The caps are brownish grey with distinct lines
around rim. Faint line on flesh. Gills off white, evenly spaced,
become wavy and dry out with age.
Shaggy Pholiota, Pholiota squarrosa.
Large patches with pretty little clusters of cream fungi. Some
of the younger ones are a shiny orange + olive colour. Lines on
rim of cap sometimes faint, sometimes prominent.
Minute 1 to 2 cm high fungus. Pure white. Very large deep gills.
White fungi 8 of them 10 cm long - largest. ‘Head,’ slightly
larger than an American dollar.
Pattern on top of stalk. Quite large specimens found caps size
of a 2p. Flesh pale creamy white, firm. Gills very deep and of 3
different sizes. Stalk orange.
Golden fingers, showing a line down centre with age. The tip is
sometimes brown and pointed. 10 sticks in a patch below rushes
in Radcliffe’s Field.
Spongy surface looks a bit furry but scarlet red when pressed.
Gills very pale orangey cream. Stalk red. Gills slightly wavy.
Some fungi look orangey pink, possible dried out. Maybe
Hygrocybe cantharellus.
A rare species.
Same colour as other fungi in patch but no definite lines. Edge
of cap wavy turned inwards Gills spaced far apart, deep cut and
well defined. All above found in Radcliffe’s damp, rushy, mossy,
poorly drained field, except for the white fungi – found in the
meadow.
About 3 to 5cm tall. Almost black gills. Straight narrow stalks.
Caps almost flat. Pale uniform cream colour. Edge wrinkled with
age
Surface of brown-cream caps wrinkled. Stalks long and bent. Cap
deep, gills well inside. Texture rubbery.
Gills orange cream and very wavy Fungi 1 to 2 cm tall.
Larger ones have cream white caps. Smaller ones are brilliant
tan orange. Some have lines around sides of cap. Larger ones
split at edges.
Liberty Cap, Psilocybe semilanceata. Very pretty fungi. Cap Chocolate brown,
gills cream. Lines on cap dark, long, thin, and very well
defined. Cap has a hump in the middle. Young one speckled with
brown powder.
Found another brown fungi very similar but without lines. The
cap looked smooth and almost fury. Very humped to a point.
A gorgeous pale lemon yellow colour. Sulphur Tuft. Stalks
peeling and have a texture. Found on the beech trunk stump.
Brick caps grow on the beech stump, these are Velvet Shank.
Flammulina Velutipes.
Centre tan. Some specimens look moist on surface. Borders Pale
Creamy yellow.
Stalk pale and lined. Very pale, cream, very fine and close
gills. Two sorts visible. Cap dark brown especially in the
centre. Spores chocolate powder coloured.
Giant Puff-ball Langermannia gigantean. I found three on an overgrown pavement in
Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. They were like white leather in
looks and texture. They smelled like normal mushrooms. One was
slightly larger than an ostrich egg. A smaller one grew so
quickly in two days that it outgrew the other and was nearly as
big as a football.
Hygrocybe
cantharellus.
There is a patch of these fungi in Radcliffe’s field beyond the
rushes by the bridge. Some of the smaller ones are about the
size of half a penny and orangey red with cream gills. The
larger ones are an orangey tan colour and split at the edges
revealing the pronounced gills. They are not common and the
edibility is unknown.
Spindle Shank Collybia Fusipes. There are lots of these medium large fungi around
the tree stumps in Smith’s field. They are tan coloured with
paler stalks. The fungus has shaded rings of varying colours,
orange, brown and tan mingling together. The gills are a pale
creamy, sort of mushroom coloured.
Shaggy Pholiota, Pholiota Squarrosa. On the Beech tree stump near the drive gate
there is a large group of this fungi. They have long stalks and
very rounded heads when young which as they grow older broaden
out and become flattened. The cap is covered in brown upturned
scales like scabs and the edge is turned inwards.
On the Beech stump there are a few scattered patches of Sulphur
Tuft, Hypholoma
fasciculare. Most of the caps are lemon yellow with a patch
of ginger dust on top. The stalks are yellow as well. Some of
the larger fungi are more ginger brown on top than yellow. At
home it always grows in Autumn, usually early.
Yesterday the sky was blue, patched with cloud and sunshine. On a
sycamore trunk I spotted a tiny olive Ladybird with a few spots.
Also to my amazement there was a dark yellow one, tiny, without
any spots. They both had black and white heads. The Bridge has
always been a great place for finding tiny black, red and yellow
ladybirds. They seem to seek each other out unlike the commoner
species.
September 15th
In Radcliffe’s field this morning there were loads, hundreds
upon thousands maybe, of silk spiders webs hung amongst the
rushes.
The three surviving
volumes for 1982 conclude at this point. When they resume in the
New Year, Jennifer is just weeks short of her eighteenth
birthday. However only fragments of 1982 are still existing;
mainly from November and December