Ponies on the Windy Wetland

We put Lark and Taurus back onto the Wetland first thing this morning in the hope that they'll munch their way through more of the vegetation in the run up to winter.

Afterwards we got around to putting up the new signs for the main access gate; there has been some confusion of late so we're hoping that the new sign makes entering and exiting the Reserve a lot clearer for new visitors.

On the way over to carry out our evening check on the ponies Imogen noticed an amazing crop of Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) in the conifer belt.

Although still relatively small some were the largest ones I have ever seen, however this species has been known to reach heights of 30cm and widths of 20cm!

This fungi often forms mycorrhizal associations with birch and is predominantly found on light soils around Birch, Pine or Spruce.

You may recognise Fly Agaric from the Disney Movie Fantasia, or as the character Toad from the Mario Bros video games.