A Witch's Egg

Back in the days when I worked in the Charity sector, I had a mischievous plan that then next time I met a colleague I hadn't seen for a while, I'd tell them I'd been having some time off to go fracking in the woods behind my house, in the hope of becoming the next Jed Clampett.

As things turned out, I never had the opportunity to put my plan into action before I was paid off by my employer back in March of this year - and of course, the whole idea of anyone actually fracking in the protected habitat of the oak woods next to our house was just one enormous fallacy ;)

Imagine my surprise this morning, when - as a man of leisure, and enjoying certain aspects of the 'hillbilly life' I am now able to pursue out here - I was walking in those same woods (just walking, not fracking - though I guess another source of income might be quite useful in my present situation), when I was startled to see a huge great Phallus thrusting through the litter on the forest floor.

I am, of course, talking here about the fungus, Phallus impudicus. This one was in the early stages of emergence - the form that acquired the common epithet 'Witches' Eggs'.

As it was I didn't happen to have a camera with me at the time, so after heading back to the house to fetch my Pentax K-3, I set off again in search of my new discovery. (Just imagine if anyone else was around, and had asked me where I was going: "I'm just heading back into the woods to look for my Phallus...")

It wasn't easy to find, as many parts of the woodland floor look incredibly alike - so I was climbing over roots, treading carefully all the time, hoping not to tread on the thing by accident. But eventually I found my colourful, rather glutinous discovery once again, and so here he is - looking a bit like a fish, or maybe even a Minion now I come to think about it...

All in all, not a bad way to mark 5 Years to the day since my first ever Blip.