Thunderhead
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26th August 2019 dawned calm and fresh over the Moscow region, Russia. I was fidgeting with anticipation, awaiting the arrival of my aunt and cousins to go out with them and my grandad into the forests. All of us wanted to collect mushrooms, and one of the family members I was going with is the only person I know who is better than me at foraging, not bragging.
Soon they arrived and in the glare of the sun we departed, but then returned soon after before getting underway again. We went through the forest to the railway station, crossed the tracks and went parallel to them, discussing what we were seeing. My family made the discussion mostly about me- I had just received my GCSE results and I could not tell who was more impressed with them- me or them, and I was runnign all over the place in happiness.
We passed the places we had been in recently and decided to continue further. As we walked past a pretty village we just chatted to pass the time and to bond. I led them to a wood in which I had found very surprising finds this summer. One of them was the very rare Hericium coralloides mushroom growing in a group of three, the other several very rare Leccinum percandidum mushroom, all in an attractive forest glade. These were the rarest mushrooms we had found this summer, with a rating of 3 (Rare) on the Russian Red Data List, until a cauliflower fungus (Gyroporus cyanescens) found by my aunt obliterated that record by leaps and bounds, having a rating of 2 (Extremely rare) on the Russian Red Data List.
As we searched the forest, a relative of my cousins found a Leccinum percandidum. She was extremely happy, and we took it. It flushed red in her hand before going black. By this time we found a lot of other great mushrooms, and continued on and found several more mushrooms in a lovely part of the forest before emerging on a field surrounded by forest. It was beautiful. We decided to go to a place where we could make a campfire (Small campfires are legal in Russia) and we loved it there, just lying down and enjoying the beautiful scenery as we just talked and collected mushrooms. We saw a lot of birds on the way to this place, and the sun was beginning to set, and when we put out the fire and got underway across the field, everything, including us, was coated in golden light.
And then I noticed an interesting bird in the distance. Tired and having one of the best days of my life, I soon realised it was a female hen harrier quartering the landscape. I had never seen it before. We stopped to look at it as it slowly displayed on the other end of the field, just for us. This bird is not rare in Russia but does have a rating of 2 in the regional Data List, so very rare. But here it was, seemingly just for us. We complemented its beauty and I caught up with them once I satisfied myself with long-distance photographs, after which as we departed the bird ceased its performance and flew into the forest. I never saw it again.
We got another woodland on the way back and collected a lot of mushrooms before returning home and spending a very pleasant evening together with my aunt, cousins and their relatives and we just relaxed with family members.
This entire day was amazing and I loved it, and the hen harrier sort of pushed me over the edge after an already amazing day collecting mushrooms and spending time with grandad and my aunt and cousins. I still remember the hen harrier display on the field, and our smiles as we observed it.
Soon they arrived and in the glare of the sun we departed, but then returned soon after before getting underway again. We went through the forest to the railway station, crossed the tracks and went parallel to them, discussing what we were seeing. My family made the discussion mostly about me- I had just received my GCSE results and I could not tell who was more impressed with them- me or them, and I was runnign all over the place in happiness.
We passed the places we had been in recently and decided to continue further. As we walked past a pretty village we just chatted to pass the time and to bond. I led them to a wood in which I had found very surprising finds this summer. One of them was the very rare Hericium coralloides mushroom growing in a group of three, the other several very rare Leccinum percandidum mushroom, all in an attractive forest glade. These were the rarest mushrooms we had found this summer, with a rating of 3 (Rare) on the Russian Red Data List, until a cauliflower fungus (Gyroporus cyanescens) found by my aunt obliterated that record by leaps and bounds, having a rating of 2 (Extremely rare) on the Russian Red Data List.
As we searched the forest, a relative of my cousins found a Leccinum percandidum. She was extremely happy, and we took it. It flushed red in her hand before going black. By this time we found a lot of other great mushrooms, and continued on and found several more mushrooms in a lovely part of the forest before emerging on a field surrounded by forest. It was beautiful. We decided to go to a place where we could make a campfire (Small campfires are legal in Russia) and we loved it there, just lying down and enjoying the beautiful scenery as we just talked and collected mushrooms. We saw a lot of birds on the way to this place, and the sun was beginning to set, and when we put out the fire and got underway across the field, everything, including us, was coated in golden light.
And then I noticed an interesting bird in the distance. Tired and having one of the best days of my life, I soon realised it was a female hen harrier quartering the landscape. I had never seen it before. We stopped to look at it as it slowly displayed on the other end of the field, just for us. This bird is not rare in Russia but does have a rating of 2 in the regional Data List, so very rare. But here it was, seemingly just for us. We complemented its beauty and I caught up with them once I satisfied myself with long-distance photographs, after which as we departed the bird ceased its performance and flew into the forest. I never saw it again.
We got another woodland on the way back and collected a lot of mushrooms before returning home and spending a very pleasant evening together with my aunt, cousins and their relatives and we just relaxed with family members.
This entire day was amazing and I loved it, and the hen harrier sort of pushed me over the edge after an already amazing day collecting mushrooms and spending time with grandad and my aunt and cousins. I still remember the hen harrier display on the field, and our smiles as we observed it.
