My squirrel surmises were proved when I went to empty the kitchen compost, to see 2 squirrels chasing each other in the garden. In front of my eyes, they ran into the rabbit trap and were both cross at being cooped up with their rival. Luckily for them, as I had seen it happen, they were soon released. It was difficult to get a photo as they were very active, but I did get a few seconds of video before I let them go and they both scampered up a nearby birch tree.
The season is feeling increasing spring like, with the Wood Anemones out, Dandelions blooming and Danish Scurvy Grass flowering alongside the road (opposite the Balavil in Newtonmore). This is the plant that enjoys (or tolerates?) the salt that is spread on the road each winter.
I spent some time in Grantown-on-Spey recently, and while waiting for a friend, had a wander around some of the streets looking for lichens. Many of the large older houses had low stone walls separating the gardens from the pavement, and the old sandstone capping stones were worth a look. Two distinctive lichens caught my eye. The first one had huge black apothecia - well, huge for lichens - when you consider that sometimes the fruiting bodies are just fraction of a millimetre across. These ones were about 3mm across. Its name is Porpidia macrocarpa. Macrocarpa means big fruits.
Porpidia means "pore in a ring" but I don't know why, However, another lichen on the same wall was more deserving of the "in a ring" description. Here it is, with the black apothecia in concentric rings:
This is Rhizocarpon petraeum. To check, I had to find some spores by slicing one of the black apothecia and looking at it under the microscope. I was glad I did as they are an amazing shape.
I've made the photo big so that you can see the spore structure. The spores are the boat shaped things and their insides are broken up into lots of little compartments, a bit like a brick wall, which is why this structure is called "Muriform" - muri means wall (think of mural). This was the first time I was sure I had found this species, but if you look at any stones up Glen Banchor you are likely to see another really common Rhizocarpon lichen: " Map lichen" (Rhizocarpon geographicum).
