Is the Stray a monoculture, part 2 ...

Here's a very interesting and useful response to my amateurish attempts to identify this fungus which I photographed on the Stray, from my friend David Swindell:

"Without a doubt it's inkcap, Toni, one of my favourites, unmistakeable. If smooth rather than shaggy you shouldn't drink any alcohol with them - won't poison you, but might make you feel very ill - used in cures for alcoholics. We once gathered pounds of them in Andover, and in the Falklands they tasted a little bitter. The condition of the ones you photographed is perfect for picking. Don't wash them, peel them if you must though that isn't necessary either, split down the middle and fry gently in hot, garlicked butter."

I still take the "don't do this at home" approach to identifying fungi.



Nothing to do with monoculture - this poster is still on the Stray. I thought it had been removed. ???

Good place for coffee

Harrogate is awash with great places for coffee, including, of course, the renowned and perfectly fine Bettys. But this morning I was struck by just how agreeable it is to sit UPSTAIRS in Cafe Nero, the one on Cambridge Crescent between RBS and Jaeger. The coffee's excellent, the cakes look nicely cakey (I resisted them), downstairs is a bit dark and crowded but upstairs there's a lovely big comfortable room with one of the best views towards the Cenotaph and over the Stray you could possibly hope for.

A new kind of litter?

I really hope it's new and that it's not going to happen again. Some kind person (probably genuinely trying to be kind - I'm not being sarcastic) has put out a load of white bread, clearly hoping that it will make the birds happy. But it's a REALLY REALLY BAD IDEA. It will definitely attract rats, squirrels, and as you can see, jackdaws and other birds that are already doing fine. The little birds won't get a look in. And shouldn't anyway, because white bread is even worse for them than it is for us.

It will probably be cleared up by our excellent Harrogate Borough Council clearing-up people, but it would be a lot better not to put it out in the first place.

There are plenty of good websites on how to feed wild birds in summer. This one is sensible and comprehensive:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/makeahomeforwildlife/advice/helpingbirds/feeding/whentofeed.aspx

But please don't leave food out on the Stray.

Such weird weather!

And here's Slingsby Walk in the rain:

Lunch at the West Park

It was nice. No, honestly, it was. My companion and I had the seafood sharing platter, she had a glass of white wine, we both had coffee to finish (mine a double espresso, hers a latte). Things that should be hot were hot, things that should be cold were cold. There were scallops in their shells with a sort of cheesy crunchy topping, goujons, prawns, smoked salmon, brown bread and butter, lemon, sauces, and other stuff that I've probably forgotten, The service was unobtrusive and professional, the environment was pleasant and comfortable (a bit noisy, but not enough to be a nuisance), the view over the Stray was lovely. There was really nothing not to like.

My problem with it was just that - it was nice, it felt like a standard product that was produced to a consistent standard (and what do I expect in a fairly big hotel/restaurant?) and it felt to me as though there was something lacking, though I'm really not sure what.

Though I do know that, to compare chalk with cheese (such a weird expression), I much preferred the Jamaican street food at 10 Devonshire Place - far less professional, much more fun, and to me it tasted better.

I'd be interested to hear other people's views.

Straying from the subject ...

Sorry about the dreadful pun, but, following yesterday's post, here's a much better photograph of a cormorant.

It was taken at Staithes by Frances Fletcher (who retains copyright) and is entitled "Does my bum look big in this?"

Irresistible.

Quite surprising!

I saw a cormorant flying over the Stray this morning, looking a bit confused. Possibly I'm the only person who's interested ...

Not my photograph - the blue sky is a bit of a giveaway.

Posters on the Stray

The poster advertising the Fair seems to have struck a chord, so I thought I'd have a little wander round to see how many other posters there are on the Stray.

There a quite a few:

These monstrosities have appeared recently on a whole lot of rubbish bins. I think they're hideous and almost certainly unhelpful. Almost all dog walkers are brilliant at picking up after their pooches, and the few who don't aren't likely to be deterred by this.

This is the Fair poster, showing clearly that it's definitely on the Stray.

I've got a feeling this doesn't count. It's a huge poster welcoming people to Christchurch, but it's inside the church wall facing out on to the Stray. It may conform to the letter of the law, but I'm not sure about the spirit. Sorry it's such a rotten picture - too much traffic for me to cross the road there, and I couldn't be bothered to walk up to the crossing.

Poster advertising the Sewing Room. It's pretty but still a poster.

This poster has been there for months, as you can see from the date! It's on the hospital railings so it may be arguable that it's not on the Stray, but it's time it came down.

And this isn't a poster, it's just a lovely evening.

Is the Stray a monoculture?

It really isn't so I should probably stop complaining that it is. Apart from grass, there's plantain and bugle and clover and buttercups and daisies, and guess what .....

I'm fairly sure it's Coprinus comatus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coprinus_comatus), lawyer's wig or shaggy ink cap. But fungi are notoriously difficult to identify - it takes an expert to be sure, and even then not always.

A few days ago I saw field mushrooms, I think, but left them alone, partly because they were pretty ratty, partly because of the amount of dog dirt, mainly because I'm just not confident enough to rely on my identifications. It's a case of don't do this at home ...

On a different subject, we now know when the Fair's coming to town:

 But does anyone know where the free parking is going to be?

Beautiful Harrogate sky

The Stray does skies really well - at almost any time of day the sky is spectacular. This was yesterday evening after the rain. The thing that looks  a bit like the moon is, I suspect, a raindrop on the lens ....

It's not rocket science

There are ways of stopping people parking on the verges, without emblazoning (is there such a word?) the Stray with hideous notices. The Borough Council has done a very effective job of using blocks of stone to keep parked cars off the area of sand which is protecting the protective matting which is protecting the now non-existent grass so that it doesn't get damaged .... er ....

This area of the Stray is looking REALLY overused. Anyone know what the plan is for when the fair arrives?

I was starting to think ...

... that the protective barrier put up, I think, by Yorkshire Water had been there for so long that it risked breaching the regulations banning enclosures on the Stray. However, this morning it looks as though the work has finished and they have re-seeded the area that was dug up. Hooray, and well done whoever was responsible for this.

Not so good, though - it's becoming increasingly apparent that quite a few of the chestnut trees on the Stray are infected with a nasty virus. It probably won't kill them, but it certainly makes them unhappy, and my guess is that trees that are already stressed are most vulnerable.

In some parts of the Stray the trees are flourishing, in others they clearly struggle. The much-admired cherry tree avenue is starting to look a bit desperate. I have a feeling there's a need for a thorough review of the whole environment to work out how best to preserve it for the future.

And poor sad leaves ...

Here are some close-ups of the leaves from the tree in yesterday's post. They definitely don't look well, though I'm equally definitely no expert. However, it does look very like Guindardia leaf blotch,  Any arboriculturists out there who can bring a bit of authority to the discussion?

Poor sad tree

One of the chestnut trees on the Stray is looking very unhappy. I don't think it's the chestnut leaf miner moth causing the problem - I'll try to get a close-up of the leaves so that whatever it is shows up more clearly. Maybe it's just old age (not alone there) or too dry or too wet or too lonely. Or maybe it's one of the other chestnut pathogens. Most of the chestnuts on the Stray are looking fine, so fingers crossed that they continue to be OK.

I wonder if this is what it's suffering from:
(information from http://www.forestry.gov.uk/fr/infd-6kyc5f:)

"Guignardia leaf blotch

Caused by the fungus Guignardia aesculi, the disease produces reddish or dull brown, irregular blotches that are often concentrated at the tips and margins of infected leaflets. The blotches are often outlined by a conspicuous yellow band (see the photo). Occasional browning without the yellow margin may be caused by ‘xylem limited’ bacteria."

Let's hope not.

What a load of rubbish!

Back from my holidays, and it's brilliant to see the Stray looking beautiful in yesterday's evening light. I particularly like the little faint glimmer of a green traffic light in the middle of the picture ...

But I like this a lot less:

This is a slightly blurry picture of litter scattered some twenty-five yards from a virtually empty rubbish bin. WHY???? I really don't get it.