Autumn falls

Well, I returned from the forest today with enough mushrooms (Ceps) for a small canape. Someone had been picking a day or so before (by the condition of the stems), although they didn't look to had that much success and had obviously had to heavily trim (lots of maggots about) what they had picked. There's change afoot, the wheel is turning and the door on Cep time is closing; we might, after more rain, get another flush of Ceps, although I'm feeling a down turn, the increasingly cold wind of change in the woods. Other mushrooms are awakening for their time to shine; Hedgehogs are becoming more frequent (although they have a long way to go yet), silly simons are about, as are Oysters, Wood Blewits and all manner of groovy looking but inedible shrooms. The forest itself is lovely and quietly busy with lots of deer and other wildlife preparing; the tree top are filled with often quite loud bird song.  The rich colours, golds, rusts, oranges and bronzes which abounded over the last couple of weeks are fading to duller hues as more leaves fall covering the woodland floor in it's seasonal quilt and the trees adopt their skeletal winter appearance. You can feel the change out there. The forest is giving a big yawn before a well earned rest; this year the land has been particularly abundant with bumper crops of nuts, berries and mushrooms.