Hare's-foot Inkcap

After a fairly miserable day yesterday, the weather was much improved today. I should have been preparing for the forthcoming exhibition, but I couldn't resist going for a slow wander round Bedford Purlieus, hunting for fungi. Many were slug-eaten and slimy - well past their best, but I found a few interesting species in good condiion including this delightfully shaggy Hare's-foot Inkcap and my first Amethyst Deceiver of the year.

While I was photographing fungi underneath a beech tree, a moderately sized branch fell from a tree about ten feet away from me with a resounding and frightening crash. There was no wind and nothing to suggest this might happen. At the same time I realised that nobody actually knew where I was, and if it had fallen on me it would probably have been a long time before I was discovered! It also crossed my mind that it would be a particularly apt way for a botanist to die...