A letter did arrive back from the Moray Council 's roads maintenance manager, and Janet asked why, after a couple of days I hadn't opened it. "Because I know what will be in it" was my reply and sure enough, I was right. 'I note all you say about grass cutting operations and am not unsympathetic to your view' - phew, progress I thought. 'However, safety issues, visibility, vehicles AND pedestrians, same cutting spec for 20 years despite your perception otherwise'. The same reply I have had from Highland Region and the roads man on Skye. I could go on. Thankfully Highland Region DON'T cut many verges now, so let's hope Moray Council will follow suit. And the orchids and the Site of Special Scientific Interest? 'We are aware of the SSSI and have been in correspondence with Scottish Natural Heritage in the past.....SNH have never raised any concerns regarding our grass cutting operations'. So there! The reply wasn't copied to SNH so I will let them have a copy and see what their reaction is, and of course, there will have to be a reply to William Ross the roads maintenance manager. I'll bet they have never really considered doing things any differently so perhaps a wee bit of correspondence will set a ball rolling somewhere and save time, expenditure and energy. I never did get a reply from the SNP MSP Richard Lochhead, but then he has had a foot and mouth crisis to deal 
with.
The last week for me has been dominated by cycling, walking and looking down as the search for the various tooth fungi goes on. So, sorry, not the time out-and-about to bring great variety to the diary this week. It has been good though and at some stage will lead to me needing a powerful microscope to be able to check spores and the like - " lack of clamp connections" is something I regularly read about in the fungi descriptions, microscopic things in the fungus make up and something similar to those funny things you see sometimes in your own eyes, floaters, I think the doctors call them. Lack of a microscope means the top of the central heating boiler has to be used to dry off the "
problem" fungi, so that an expert can check them over in the future. Currently, I have probably found as many individuals as anyone here in the past, showing just how good a year this is for this particular group of fungi. I'm not too sure that continual tasting of the Hynellum peckii fungus pictured left (Devil's Tooth!) is good for you and I am currently suffering from bouts of a sore throat and a runny nose, perhaps something to do with the peppery taste! So why are you tasting them I hear you ask, it's the only way, without resorting to the microscope all the time, to tell the commoner peckii fungus from its close relative Hydnellum ferrigeum - Mealy Tooth, a fungus
that has only been found in Abernethy on four previous occasions. Great joy therefore on Sunday when, after nibbling at a tiny piece of fungus cap, there was no hot taste and yes, old Mealy Tooth had been found. Devil's Tooth probably referes to the blood oozing state of the fungus after rain when red droplets of water gather on the cap that really do look like blood. A page from my notebook gives some idea of the quantity of fungi being found, all of which have yet to be entered into a spreadsheet so that neat and colourful maps can be produced showing what has been found where. There is so much happening out in the woods that the boss has let me take a couple 
of days off this week to carry on searching. In an effort to get more staff looking for these wonderful fungi I managed to get most of the section managers out on site for a lunch-time wander to acquaint them with what to look for and show them the more typical growing sites. So the picture left is a very rare sight on the reserve and great to be responsible in dragging everyone away from their desks for a breath of fresh air and who knows, get them looking for Devil's Tooth, Pine Tooth, Black Tooth and the non-electronic version of Blue Tooth! It's working with the first record arriving on my desk of a group of Pine Tooth (Sarcodon squamosus) fungi growing close to Forest Lodge. Well done Desmond.
with.The last week for me has been dominated by cycling, walking and looking down as the search for the various tooth fungi goes on. So, sorry, not the time out-and-about to bring great variety to the diary this week. It has been good though and at some stage will lead to me needing a powerful microscope to be able to check spores and the like - " lack of clamp connections" is something I regularly read about in the fungi descriptions, microscopic things in the fungus make up and something similar to those funny things you see sometimes in your own eyes, floaters, I think the doctors call them. Lack of a microscope means the top of the central heating boiler has to be used to dry off the "
problem" fungi, so that an expert can check them over in the future. Currently, I have probably found as many individuals as anyone here in the past, showing just how good a year this is for this particular group of fungi. I'm not too sure that continual tasting of the Hynellum peckii fungus pictured left (Devil's Tooth!) is good for you and I am currently suffering from bouts of a sore throat and a runny nose, perhaps something to do with the peppery taste! So why are you tasting them I hear you ask, it's the only way, without resorting to the microscope all the time, to tell the commoner peckii fungus from its close relative Hydnellum ferrigeum - Mealy Tooth, a fungus
that has only been found in Abernethy on four previous occasions. Great joy therefore on Sunday when, after nibbling at a tiny piece of fungus cap, there was no hot taste and yes, old Mealy Tooth had been found. Devil's Tooth probably referes to the blood oozing state of the fungus after rain when red droplets of water gather on the cap that really do look like blood. A page from my notebook gives some idea of the quantity of fungi being found, all of which have yet to be entered into a spreadsheet so that neat and colourful maps can be produced showing what has been found where. There is so much happening out in the woods that the boss has let me take a couple 
of days off this week to carry on searching. In an effort to get more staff looking for these wonderful fungi I managed to get most of the section managers out on site for a lunch-time wander to acquaint them with what to look for and show them the more typical growing sites. So the picture left is a very rare sight on the reserve and great to be responsible in dragging everyone away from their desks for a breath of fresh air and who knows, get them looking for Devil's Tooth, Pine Tooth, Black Tooth and the non-electronic version of Blue Tooth! It's working with the first record arriving on my desk of a group of Pine Tooth (Sarcodon squamosus) fungi growing close to Forest Lodge. Well done Desmond.Some of the days during the last week have had a real feel of autumn about 
them and with a dramatic drop in temperature one night the mist rolled in and gave one of those typical damp, misty starts to the following day. Cycling in to work I looked like I had developed a slightly hairy coat as the tiny water droplets gathered on my fleece jacket. On this type of morning though, you do realise just how many spiders there are out there, everywhere you look the trees, heather, grass and juniper bushes are covered in mist covered webs, of all shapes and sizes. A typical web-covered pine sapling is shown right but you do need to get out early because as the sun comes up the webs dry out and "disappear". Mist of a different kind however caused real problems for the BBC and the 'live climb' last weekend. After weeks of preparation and the huge debate about whether such an event should take place in the middle of the Cairngorm Mountains and within the Abernethy Nature Reserve, everything was in place for the climbers 
to attempt some really difficult routes up some of the most difficult rock-faces in Scotland. Despite being roped up, one climber risked death if he came off (see Dave MacLeod's website at http://www.davemacleod.com/home.htm and BBC at http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/07_july/26/climb.shtml) but for this amount of risk, conditions would have to be dry and perfect and, for the whole weekend, they weren't. For the whole of Saturday and Sunday you could hardly see the mountains (pictured left) and on top of this there was steady, heavy rain, not ideal when you have to hang on literally, by your finger tips. So, on Sunday afternoon the plugs were pulled and all the equipment retrieved. Dave MacLeod however, his wife and a small BBC TV crew stayed on site in the hope that something could be filmed, to be shown at a later date, before finally, all the fixed ropes etc. were removed.
them and with a dramatic drop in temperature one night the mist rolled in and gave one of those typical damp, misty starts to the following day. Cycling in to work I looked like I had developed a slightly hairy coat as the tiny water droplets gathered on my fleece jacket. On this type of morning though, you do realise just how many spiders there are out there, everywhere you look the trees, heather, grass and juniper bushes are covered in mist covered webs, of all shapes and sizes. A typical web-covered pine sapling is shown right but you do need to get out early because as the sun comes up the webs dry out and "disappear". Mist of a different kind however caused real problems for the BBC and the 'live climb' last weekend. After weeks of preparation and the huge debate about whether such an event should take place in the middle of the Cairngorm Mountains and within the Abernethy Nature Reserve, everything was in place for the climbers 
to attempt some really difficult routes up some of the most difficult rock-faces in Scotland. Despite being roped up, one climber risked death if he came off (see Dave MacLeod's website at http://www.davemacleod.com/home.htm and BBC at http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/07_july/26/climb.shtml) but for this amount of risk, conditions would have to be dry and perfect and, for the whole weekend, they weren't. For the whole of Saturday and Sunday you could hardly see the mountains (pictured left) and on top of this there was steady, heavy rain, not ideal when you have to hang on literally, by your finger tips. So, on Sunday afternoon the plugs were pulled and all the equipment retrieved. Dave MacLeod however, his wife and a small BBC TV crew stayed on site in the hope that something could be filmed, to be shown at a later date, before finally, all the fixed ropes etc. were removed. There was also great news f
or the village of Boat of Garten on Saturday, with the opening of the new village hall, five years of hard work by the village hall development committee. At 2.30pm, the new village hall was officially opened, accompanied by the local pipe band and watched by a couple of hundred local residents. So, after twenty years of being involved in giving summer talks in the old hall, yours truly will have to get used to new premises when the new season of village talks kicks of in April 2008. In the early years there was just me, talking every M
onday night from April to August about the reserve or the Loch Garten ospreys. In recent years the "burden" has been shared and over the twenty or so weeks, six or seven speakers are involved talking about the natural history of the surrounding area. It has been great to be involved and I wish the new hall management committee all the best for the future. http://www.boatofgarten.com/events.php.
or the village of Boat of Garten on Saturday, with the opening of the new village hall, five years of hard work by the village hall development committee. At 2.30pm, the new village hall was officially opened, accompanied by the local pipe band and watched by a couple of hundred local residents. So, after twenty years of being involved in giving summer talks in the old hall, yours truly will have to get used to new premises when the new season of village talks kicks of in April 2008. In the early years there was just me, talking every M
onday night from April to August about the reserve or the Loch Garten ospreys. In recent years the "burden" has been shared and over the twenty or so weeks, six or seven speakers are involved talking about the natural history of the surrounding area. It has been great to be involved and I wish the new hall management committee all the best for the future. http://www.boatofgarten.com/events.php.It started with a spade and the traditional emptying of the garden compost bins way back in March. It involved sowing seeds of various vegetable varieties. It also involved pulling out weeds. In 2007 it didn't involve any watering by hosepipe! It involved lots of weeks of waiting. There was a picture in the diary two weeks ago of the first rewards of all our efforts.
It involved eating the produce from our efforts. Yummmmmmmmmy!
It's that time of year where all around fruits, berries, cereals are all there, ripe and ready for picking. The blackbirds have beaten us yet again to the cherries in the garden, lets hope they have a decent aim with their droppings and the seeds they are carrying! There is even a song thrush in the pinewoods close to Forest Lodge mopping up the blaeberries and the cowberries. The local hazel trees have crops of nuts, a bit
hard on the teeth to get at them, but the young nut inside is well worth the effort. Despite the weather the corn and barley in the fields seems to be ripening nicely and in the garden we see the remains of the birch seeds as the siskins start to tuck into the crop. All around there is food a-plenty for man and beast and though the fungi I nibble at don't taste too good, there are plenty of Chanterelles and young puffballs to feed on, but take care, be sure you know what you are picking. Make the most of the 
present because autumn isn't too far away and as our ospreys and swallows start to head south, the scandanavian thrushes will soon start to appear to feed on the ripening rowan berries. At work, my diary for 2008 has arrived on my desk and Christine is asking for orders for Christmas cards. Help! Isn't nature amazing though, such abundance before having
a rest and starting all over again in a few months time. Just look at the amazing showiness of the yellow heads of Centaurea macrocephela in the Firwood garden. There were a dozen or so heads a couple of weeks ago when I intended taking a photograph, and was lucky to catch this one before it went over like the others around it. Insect of the week has to be this wood
wasp or horntail Urocerus gigas, almost two inches long and looking like it wants to "sting" everyone in sight. But don't be afraid, the sting is really the insects ovipositor or egg-laying device which it uses like a drill to force its eggs under the bark or into the wood of dying trees. It isn't a wasp either but belongs to the sawfly family, a very impressive insect to see in the forest. Thanks to Richard for capturing the beast for me to photograph.As the season starts to wind down so will the diary. It should be possible to do a couple a month but let's see what develops, if there is a story to tell, the diary will be done.
Enjoy this weeks read, and the last of the summer holidays.
Best wishes
Stewart & Janet
harebells or Scottish bluebells
All photos © Stewart Taylor
