Chasm of Doom

Today I did something that was decidedly reckless, very foolish and potentially lethal. And tomorrow I'll probably do it again. 

The River Conon flows through my square, spilling out of Glen Conon and into the sea. Inland of the A87 it runs through a deep ravine. Twice I've managed to scramble up the north face of the ravine. The third attempt saw me lose traction and slide down the steep slope, rather luckily I snagged my leg around a tree trunk and hence stopped an uncontrolled descent, suffering a scraped belly and hands but defying death itself. It's steep, yes - but not vertical. The problem is that the soil just slides away underfoot, so that before you know it, you and the ground are slipping downhill and there isn't much you can do to stop it. Which leads to much amusement - unless of course the descent is over 200ft with large rocks and a hungry river at the bottom, in which case it very definitely soon stops being funny. Anyway, I've yet to attempt the north face again since scaring the shite out of myself last time. Fingernails and small clumps of grass just don't stop a slide once it starts. It frightened me. 

But time dulls the memories and today I crossed the river by leaping from a fallen tree to a rock and then onto the far bank. I had a sedate wander, didn't slip over, couldn't see any trout in the pool......and then spied a darkened cave in a deep overhang almost at the water's surface. Back on the opposite bank again. Taking a moment, I plotted my route across the river, using various rocks to make my way across. Pretty soon I was back on the south bank of the Conon and peering into the cave for signs of the near-mythical Killarney Fern. Gametophyte stage only, no doubt, but something I'd love to be able to discover new for the area. It's bound to be here somewhere and a dark recess just above the river level is ideal. Anyway, I didn't find it. Straightening up and looking around, I realised that I now had a slight predicament on my hands.

The rocks that I had used to leapfrog my way across the river were now all facing the wrong way, providing only awkward angles, almost promising a certain dunk into the river. Sod that! My only other option was to tackle the south face of the ravine without killing myself. Sheep have fallen off of this slope, only to die in the river and wash up on the shore. I'm relatively lithe and nimble, but if a sheep can fall off that face....

Anyway, I spied some stuff on a moss-covered boulder which demanded my immediate attention.  

Nephroma laevigatum - a stunning lichen and one I've not (knowingly) seen before

I popped a small sample into a pot and checked it over once back indoors again. It's a really nice lichen, and unfortunately one that's seemingly in decline. Unpolluted, humid gorges in the far north and west are it's stronghold - so I guess it was only a matter of time before I encountered it up here. Really quite delightful. For a lichen, that is.

Sticta canariensis growing on the same mossy boulder - a real stunner of a lichen! 

Anyway, back to that climb up the face of the ravine. I spent a good two or three minutes visualising my route to the summit - far, far above me. Fuckit, visualise all you like, there's no knowing the path until your feet are on it, eh? I figured a zigzag approach was better than a full on vertical ascent and found a (sheep?) trail that headed generally upwards. Good enough. 

Randomly, I only thought to take one pic whilst recklessly risking life and limb on the Slope of Death

River Conon waaaay down below and the summit waaay up above, somewhere...

Somehow, I managed the ascent without any problem. Ha! I've now successfully conquered both the north and south faces of the ravine! Hell yeah, I rock. Proper. In celebration of still being alive, I found some dead Downy Birch leaves and added a couple of microfungi to my PSL. Man, I sure do know how to partay, eh? Damn right I do, yeah...

Gnomonia setacea - the black hairlike setae are the fruitbodies of this tiny fungus

It isn't very easy to discern (poor pic, I know) but there are several black hairlike spikes scattered across the surface of this dead birch leaf. It's magnified about 40x - and still crap! These spikes are a lifer for me, none other than Gnomonia setacea, would you believe? Dirt common on dead birch leaves across Britain, but one I've never looked for before today. Instant success, in fact, seeing as these were on the very first leaf I checked. So anyway, each spike arises from a small bump and towers at a mighty 3/4mm in height. 

Wait until you see the next one...

Venturia ditricha - awesome I know, right?

Similar to the last microfungus, but instead of having a single 1mm tall hair-like fruitbody, this has several 1/3mm tall setae arising from each rounded bump. The image is awful I know, but it's not easy taking fantastic pics of something that's this flippin' tiny.

After making it to the top, I decided to head back down to sea-level - but taking a less dangerous route through the woods this time. Once back on level ground I started turning stones in search of goodies. One day I'm gonna find myself explaining what I'm doing to a policeman, I just know it! 

Kontikia andersoni - I'm finding plenty of these lately

Boettgerilla pallens the Worm Slug,  probably the least photogenic mollusc in the world?

The delightful Slug Mite Riccardoella oudemansi on a Budapest Slug Tandonia budapestensis

I only ever seem to see Slug Mites on this one species of slug. Are Tandonia especially prone to mite infestation? Why don't the larger Arion slugs have them too? Or the near-ubiquitous Deroceras invadens and D.reticulatum? I have absolutely no idea, I just know that if you check two or three Tandonia, then you'll almost certainly find the mites. 

Right, my light trap is running tonight. I only run it every other night, that way it gives the moths a chance to feed, rest, find each other and mate - as opposed to being stuck in a box for several consecutive nights before dying a hungry, dehydrated, frustrated virgin. Nobody wants that.

How many 'firsts' for Skye will this humble box produce in 2018, I wonder?

This, dear folks, is almost my first ever request! Tonight I give you a Joan Baez classic, as performed by a fellow Brummie. As always, I do hope you enjoy!