In the log pile...

Here's a couple of new nature journal pages for the new year! My partner was chopping logs for the fire and unearthed one from the bottom of the pile. It has probably been sat in the same place for a couple of years, and had started to mulch down nicely.

The bark was only loosely associated with the rest of the log and came away to reveal a lovely little ecosystem of fungi and invertebrates, some of which I managed to get onto paper!

The tiny tiny spiders are both Linyphiidae species - there are around 280 different species in the UK and it's our largest spider family. These ones were both around 2mm in body length but could scurry away impressively quickly!

The fungi were growing from the mulch at the base of the log. The bigger ones are Glistening inkcaps (Coprinellus micaceus). They look like they've been dusted with sugar - this is the remains of the veil that they have when they first emerge. The tiny fungi on the inside of the bark piece are a Mycena species; I asked for help with an ID for these from the facebook British and Irish Fungi group, and it seems they may be M. archangeliana or perhaps M. pseudocoeticola. 

Amazing what you can find in your back garden - there's always something of interest!