Stuart Milligan

Multiple spans of a pale sandstone viaduct with a path running under it.

One of the spans showing it's impressive height.

The best sighting of the day was the hugely impressive Jerviston Railway Viaduct towering above Caldervale.

Fluffy white, pink and yellow buds of Goat Willow on the point of opening.

Dry flower heads of Teasel composed primarily of brown "spikes" protecting the seeds they are carrying.

... and a few others...

Intricate and complex flower of a double Snowdrop with yellow anthers and white petals striped with green.

Two cup-shaped fungi with cream exterior and scarlet interior. The common name is Scarlet Cup or Scarlet Elf Cup.

Bullrush seed head with the dark brown outer case split open and the fluffy white seeds pushing out.

Plum-coloured, velvet-textured growths of Jelly Ear fungus on a mossy branch.

Some natural highlights from today's @slowwaysuk.bsky.social walks from Hamilton to Bellshill and from Bellshill to Motherwell...

A collage of photographs of nine flowers: Cherry Plum; Oxford Ragwort; White Dead-nettle; Hazel (male catkins); Primrose; Winter Aconite; Golden Crocus; Herb Bennet; Hazel (female catkins).

A rather late #TheWinter10 (only nine Im afraid) for #WildFlowerHour tonight. All photographed in south central Scotland this week.

A tall bare tree (a Poplar) with at least eight clumps of Mistletoe of various sizes distributed amongst it's branches.

A clump of Mistletoe silhouetted against a grey sky showing the wishbone-shaped pairs of leaflets characteristic of this species.

A clump of Mistletoe against a background provided by the trunk of the host tree. The green colour of the Mistleoe is in stark contrast to the relatively colourless branches and twigs of the tree itself.

A view across fields towards a row of tall Poplars, four of which are bearing Mistletoe.

Mistletoe growing near Port Seton, East Lothian today. Not an easy plant to catch up with in Scotland.

Bright scarlet, cup shaped fungi growing on a moss-covered log.

More Elf Cups framed by intense green moss.

A newly emerged, cream and pink Elf Cup with a scarlet interior.

Some Scarlet Elf Cups growing in Darnley Woods, Glasgow today.

A small group of bright yellow flowers, each with a "collar" of lime green leaves, growing on a damp, leaf-covered woodland floor.

A single plant unfurling from the woodland floor, with the yellow flower peeking out from its covering of leaves.

More plants unfurling as they emerge from the soil on the woodland floor.

A small patch of Winter Aconite flowers showing the encroachment of grasses.

Winter Aconite flowering today in Darnley Woods, Glasgow. I have been checking on this patch for about ten years. As adjacent trees have died or suffered storm damage, the canopy has opened and grasses have moved in, potentially making the site less suitable for this locally scarce species.

Rustyback fern fronds with "leaflets" in a zig-zag arrangement rather than the more typical opposite arrangement of other ferns.

Haphazard tufts of Wall-rue sprouting from the gap between dark grey bricks.

Green fronds of Maidenhair Spleenwort made up of a dark brown central stalk and numerous small, oval "leaflets" in oppositely-arranged pairs.

A cloudy, orange and light blue sunset over a flat sea with a dark beach in the foreground.

Some ferns growing on an old wall in Troon, Ayrshire today ... and the view over South Bay.

A couple of slightly furry, dusky-mauve Jelly Ear fungi on the bark of a tree.

Snowdrops in flower with pure white "drops" suspended from thin green stems by pea-green calyxs.

The watery, orange glow of the setting sun viewed through a small group of black, leafless trees.

Jelly Ear and Snowdrops in Pollok Park @friendsofpollok.bsky.social today ... and the sunset from Shaw Hill.

A tiny female flower of Hazel looking like a bright pink spider or sea anemone at the junction of two sections of a twig.

Velvety domes of Jelly Ear fungus glowing dusky orange in the winter sunshine.

Deep mauve-brown coloured growths of Jelly Ear fungus on a dead tree.

Small, hand-shaped projections of Candlesnuff fungus growing out of a tuft of moss. Normally white, these examples are stained pale green, possibly due to algal growth.

A few botanical highlights from Broadwood Loch, Cumbernauld today:

A very good description of that semi-hallucinatory state that happens when your activity/sleep pattern is disrupted, TV/radio consumption randomised and temperature raised by illness. Get well soon.

Bright yellow growths of Yellow Brain fungus protruding from a dead branch.

Tiny, intensely-pink female flower of Hazel with long, curled waving "petals".

Slightly furry, dusky pink domes of Jelly Ear fungus growing from twisted bark of tree.

Multiple small, circular orange and pink growths of Coral Spot fungus covering a fallen branch.

Some highlights from the White Cart Walkway in Langside/Battlefield, Glasgow today. IDs in ALT text.

Yellow apples on bare branches against a light blue sky.

Two yellow apples trapped in the lower, younger branches of their tree.

Two apples, one yellow and one orange/yellow, partially buried in leaf litter.

Fallen apples beneath their parent tree.

I found two forgotten Apple trees on another neglected verge - this time between the railway and Darnley Road in Pollokshields, Glasgow.

The spines of the three books: The World of Spiders by W. S. Bristoe, The Common Lands of England & Wales by L. Dudley Stamp & W. G. Hoskins and Grass & Grasslands by Ian Moore.

The slightly faded but still colourful covers of the three books showing, respectively, a spider's web, a grazing horse and a pasture field. The cover art is an integral part of the joy of this wonderful series.

As the Christmas lights are being packed away for another year, I'm just reflecting on how much I've enjoyed the three wonderful #NewNaturalist books I was given.

A montage of photographs of winter flowering plants in southwest Glasgow. Mostly greens, yellows and whites, with the blue flowers of Greater Periwinkle being the exception.

I enjoyed taking part in the #NewYearPlantHunt organised by @bsbibotany.bsky.social over the past two days. Here are the results of my wanderings in south Glasgow - although half of these had to be disregarded because they had been deliberately planted.

Hazel trees have burst into life in Pollokshaws, Glasgow with both male catkins and female flowers showing well today (also a Harlequin Ladybird). An old fence near Langside railway station had a good growth of (probable) Common Jelly Spot and two Fieldfares (no photo) were in Auldhouse Park.

Tiny, shocking pink flower on bare twig with associated, light green catkins.

Round, woody protuberance (possibly Cola Nut Gall on Oak) growing from bare, olive green twig bearing small brown buds.

Light bluish-grey catkins emerging from brown buds along otherwise bare stem. Probably Goat Willow.

Bright yellow flowers of Gorse, surrounded by green "needles"

Found my first female Hazel flowers of the "spring" in scrubby woodland along the edge of the M77 motorway in Glasgow yesterday. A few other finds also attached.

A rather tatty looking Apple tree on a motorway verge in Craigton, Glasgow today nevertheless seemed to have produced a good crop.

Looking down a tree-lined avenue to a road stretching into the distance with sunlit buildings at its end.

A distant view of the Glasgow skyline with bare trees in the foreground and several prominent buildings (including two church steeples) turned golden-yellow by the winter sunshine.

A view across a dead calm river (Clyde) to modern apartment buildings framed by blue sky, all reflected in the still water.

Some scenes from a walk in Glasgow today. Birds encountered included Kingfisher, Cormorant and Goosander.

Orange, cap-forming fungi growing along fissures in tree bark. Probably of genus Flammulina.

Creamy-brown "toadstools" growing through leaf litter and a wire fence. Probably Common Inkcap.

Two-tone (dark and pale green) plant shoots emerging from the soil. Probably Common Snowdrop.

Pink flowers surrounded by dark green leaves. Probably an early-flowering Rhododendron variety.

Some finds from a visit to Pollok Country Park, Glasgow today (details in alt text). Good birds included three Jays, three Nuthatches, five Stock Doves and single Buzzard and Sparrowhawk.

A rainy walk around the Priesthill area of Glasgow this morning produced 22 bird species including four in song (Robin. Starling, Wren and Song Thrush). Non-birds encountered consisted of Jelly Ear fungus and epiphytic Polypody.

A nice drake Ring-necked Duck cheered up a damp walk through Queen's Park, Glasgow today.

Blob of pale amber jelly fungus on tree bark.

A cluster of three "blobs" of a pale amber jelly fungus on a tree branch.

By coincidence, I found a Jelly Fungus on Buddleja in Langside, Glasgow yesterday. Wasn't confident enough to get it to species level so have uploaded it as Exidia sp.

More local colour in south Glasgow this week...

Part of a herd of domesticated Reindeer (including a big, white male) resting on a heathery hillside.

Three Rabbits (including a black individual) on a mossy lawn.

... and a few distant mammals - apologies for the very poor photos (2/2).

A gallery of late-flowering herbaceous plants and a few colourful fungi.

A midweek trip up to Aviemore produced some colourful botanical finds... (1/2)

Hope you're feeling better soon.

A cloudy sunset over a strip of land (actually the island of Arran) on the horizon beyond a wide sweep of steely-blue sea.

Sunset on the first day of Samhain, the Gaelic winter, Irvine, Ayrshire.

🤭

Four photos of tiny black projections pushing up through short grass.

... and with Samhain nearly upon us, some appropriately spooky Earthtongues (2/2) #FungiFriends.