armybloke

I have been fortunate to travel and this time I stayed in Courcheval. Not for the skiing but for the mountain walking. On my travels I came across many fabulous trees and associated fungi. I have posted a taster on here but an album of sorts will reside in my profile for those more curious. Juniper and pine grew no more than a foot high at 9000ft but as you went to lower altitudes the giants prevailed. What I did find was that the trees were bigger in size in comparison to those of Uk and this i felt was climate led. The oaks grew taller and more statuesque than those of UK. Great avenuse of Planes adorned the roadside for miles upon miles with girths that would out-shadow those of Hyde Park yet they all appeared in good health and without much maintenance. the French like to play with their trees, almost experiment and that is certainly reflected at Disneyland where the horticulture and arboriculture would befit any palace or chateau. Pollarding, pruning and shaping their trees to 'fit' the landscape is also obvious. An apple hedge, silver birch hedging, almost any tree turned in to a hedge. Pleached Horse Chestnuts edged the roadsides of Troyes as I stopped enroute to witness. Adorable scenery and many a stunning wild flower meadow too. I shall post some interesting fungi on a new thread for those of you with a passion for identifying and sharing in them. Enjoy ....

Simply stunning block of wood - nice work, well done.

The fact that ladybirds are present in such large numbers is possibly a sign of good feeding grounds. Have you hand lense handy to see what it is that they may be muching? Yellow dieback has appeared in my father-in-laws hedge too - could this be a legacy of our dry spell early in the year as he has not experienced this in the past?

I was having a look through some of pics when I noticed this little beaut - my friends commented that it looks like it has turned itself inside out!

Like it and you have prompted me to search my pics as I have something similar. We touched on this in a previous correspondence when we discussed the merits of Woodpeckers favouring brown rot as opposed to white rot - softer boring potential?

Top picture was on Hornbeam 2nd and 3rd on the oak

Popped in to Wisley yesterday to brush up on some ident and stumbled across lots of fungi. A small taster as I don't want to spoil it for your own trip...here's a couple of clues - the huge Quercus robur outside the entrance, a massive Carpinus betulus by the Wild garden ...oh and check out the branch graft on the old Quercus next to the main house as you go towards the library - neat .

Looking forward to seeing the bird. Micheldever woods are a good haunt of mine - love the big eared beeches and the tallest tree in the world laid flat to walk along!!

Hey thanks! I do a bot of birding (feathered variety) and came across this some time back hence the spotter badge from you I am curious as I am from 'miker' neck of the woods and if it is a fancy beast I want to see it!!

Why do you suggest a woodpecker - long bill, the stance, body shape? We can narrow this down til we find what you saw!

Is that a Wryneck?

Nice idea, thanks for the updates

Twins day out????

Week 3. It is all starting to take shape and form now. Popped out in a number of places and can even be seen from the road proper.

May not be a fungi but a lichen - worth looking that up trooper

Friends, Romans and Countrymen....lend me your ears...

Doesn't Mount Edgecombe also boast the largest Bay Laurel hedge in the country or has some janner been spinning a yarn over cider?

Always grateful for confirmation - thanks Monkey-D

Another piece of quality T and like the others I will follow with interest with my scribble pad close by for my notes. You, Dave and Gerrit have made fungi far more interesting than I could have imagined - like the rest of your threads; keep it going.

I did not see him, it was raining the proverbial so was not paying too much attention. I did notice an old building surrounded by trees and concrete that had a castellated top almost parked underneath this section and I imagine was there before the M4 ever was- any ideas (Oh I know it's not trees but I am interested) please?

That's neat, thanks for the info, I will keep an eye out on Malus sp too

Around the base of a very dead Ash!

Look at the straight edges on this Pyrus salicifolia - why would it do that?