Fossil Tree

10 January 2014

Sheffield Botanical Gardens, South Yorkshire

Roots (Stigmaria) of a giant clubmoss, Lepidodendron, excavated during the construction of Sheffield station in teh 1860s. In the Carboniferous period 300 million years ago they grew to 30 metres. The remains of this tropical forest became coal but the roots are casts of the original plant; when the roots rotted away the cavity that was left in the sand was filled with sediment - in this case sand.

Wild Geese

We're so absorbed trying to spot a goldcrest amongst the blue tits and long-tailed tits in the conifers above us that we ignore the commotion passing behind us. I vaguely imagine that some kind of badly maintained squeaky machine must be passing across the slope of the park behind us but it then continues beyond the boundary wall.

A man walks up the path towards us; 'Did you see those geese go over?! There were three lines of about a hundred.'

They were heading west or northwest - perhaps to Martinmere?

Squirrel Chase

There's a lot of chasing and bickering going on amongst the garden's grey squirrel population.