Tags
boletus, Catbrook wood, earth balls, Hard fern, Ninewells Wood, Ninewells Wood species list, Paxillus, russula, Woodland fungi
In the summer when the ‘brash man’ was removing the brash with his JCB I got him to dig a large hole which could potentially become a pond. Well it remained largely empty or occasionally had a very small puddle in the bottom. However today I visited the wood and it is now a pond. It has filled up in just one week. How long it will stay full I do not know but for now I have a little pond. 
Also there are quite a few fungi growing and here are some photos. First is one called a Brown Roll rim (Paxillus involutus). It is brown and the edge of the cap (rim) rolls round so it is a good name. This fungus is poisonous and according to the books is potentially deadly.
Brown roll rim Paxillus involutus
There are also a lot of very attractive orange fungi which might be false chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantica) or they might be Gymnopilus penetrans. Neither of these are edible and they both grow in pine woods.
Then there is a yellow russula fungus calledRussula ochroleuca.These are quite common and according to the book they are edible. I have never eaten them and do not think I ever will. There is a difference between being edible and being tasty.
Russula
There are quite a lot of earth balls (Scleroderma citrinium) which are a type of puff ball but again not edible.
Finally I did find one Boletus called a bay bolete which is edible and quite good but the one I found was well past its sell by date so I did not take its photo and left it where it was so that it can produce lots of spores and hopefully produce lots of bay boletes next year.
Hard fern
There are lots of other things making an appearance. Next year we should have loads of Foxgloves which should look quite colourful and also there are quite a few Hard ferns which I find quite attractive.
Young Foxgloves
Ninewells Wood 
I suppose the sunlight will allow other flowers to prosper. Foxgloves will look beautiful. The pond, even if it comes and goes, will be very welcome and interesting to watch. Amelia
Yes I am looking forward to next Spring to see what pops up, there could be all sorts lurking in the soil from times gone by.
Alan, me Russ and john would like to know if there are any magic mushrooms? Amanita muscaria would be lovely! Pond looks better than before and can we shoot the pine martins? Hope you and Anita are well
A muscaria are not the genuine magic mushroom which is the one known as a liberty cap because of its shape. The Amanita is somewhat magical but can also be somewhat lethal, depending on how strong it is and how much you eat. Tribesmen in far flung bits of Europe either fed them to their Reindeer and then drunk the urine as a more controlled way to get high but not dead. Or they allowed a lower ranking tribesmen to eat some and then drank their urine. So who is going to volunteer to be the guinea pig out of you, Alan, Russ or John ? and then would you want to drink their pee? Anyway I have not seen any Fly agarics in the woods this year. there were some last year.
No you can,t shoot the Pine martens but I do not think there are any there in the first place. If there are Mink then you can shoot them and also the Wild Boar, however I doubt if your air rifles will have much effect on a wild boar…. just make it angry and likely to attack you.. Best to stick to the pigeons.