cow paddocks with view on the singen hill.
the singen hill, or singener berg in german, is an outlier hill on the southeastern parts of the thuringian basin, part of a shell limestone plateau called ilm-saale-platte. the hill is actually a mountain of 582 meters of height, so not super tiny, right? it's also situated next to some forested highlands situtated north of the thuringian forest, called paulinzella foreland. and these highlands, being in such close proximity to the thuringian forest, are one of my family's favourite hunting grounds for mushrooms in the autumn! we always find lots of mushrooms in these woods, and not only a small variety, but actually a wide and diverse one! the little village at the feet of the singen hill, singen ( the mountain was named after it! ), welcomes guests with sights such as st. nicholas church from 1646, an old, at least 160 year old brewery that also functions as museum and a rustic tavern that we have visited before and that offers hearty thuringian specialties ( and the locally brewed beer ). other than that it really just is a beautifully located little village and its main appeal lies within the landscape it is situated in.
the paddocks near the woods are often enlivened with the existence of many cows, which i love and am super eager to say hi to, every time!
and funnily, they are also very interested in people passing by, and it happened quite a few times already that they came running when i called them ( which is always me MOOOOOOOing at them!! 😂 ). they're the sweetest ❤
into the woods we go. a very typical sight in german woods, raised hides.
autumn is the blooming season of the heather, so, naturally, we would stumble upon heaps of blooming heather.
the softest forest moss!
it grew on an old tree stump.
looks beautiful, this russula mushroom, but this is one i would never pick unless i was absolutely certain it is actually edible - which is difficult with the russula genus, as there are over 750 different varieties worldwide and some are super difficult to tell apart and their edibility can reach from edible to poisonous! i think this specimen is one that's called the bare-toothed russula, and it should be a rather good edible mushroom, but as i said before, what i can't identify clearly is not going to make it into my basket, ever!
the bloody brittlegrill is definitely one of the russula mushrooms that should not be tested ( i think it's always a good indicator when the mushrooms are bright red, a colour of warning! ).
another hide, now in a pine tree area.
it's also nice to notice other details in the early autumnal woods, such as the golden colours of the wood small-reed. their feathery heads are soft to the touch, i love running my hands through patches of them :)
early autumn, when the woods still have a certain kind of gossamer atmosphere going on.
cutiepie heathers ❤
curious looking mushroom that i think is actually a velvet-top fungus. not edible! but usable for dyeing projects.
cute little bench made out of naturally finished wood planks and logs with their branches still attached!
someone built a little home here. can you guess who it was?
further down this slope a marshy stretch of land lured me in and i left my parents to explore it some more. let me tell you, i was quite a bit unhappy when i re-emerged. i had stepped into the swampy grounds and almost lost one of my NEW shoes! i haven't worn them since, as they keep reminding me of this sludgy and pulpy experience. i definitely don't want to die in a bog or a swamp, ever 😂 let's just say that i developed quite some respect for these landscapes now.
on the verge of fading away, a silver-washed fritillary. i suppose it enjoyed some last sips of blossom nectar before it would vanish into the everlasting realms of butterfly no man's land 🦋
i will eventually escape with you into these woods in the future again, so this will stay kinda brief for now. i hope you enjoyed the first glimpse into one of our family's favourite mushroom spots.
stay curious ❤
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