Madarchen - Mushroom / Madarch - Mushrooms
Caws Llyffant (Toad’s cheese) = Toadstool
But what is the plural of Caws Llyfant? The dicitonary suggests Madarch again!
Be also aware of the many dialect names gulp ochnaid 
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We had a light shower today and these appeared, as if by magic, within a few hours. I’m not getting deeper into the mushroom debate, as I can only recognise the edible field mushroom, and have no idea what these might be, only that, no matter what the science, I would never call them mushrooms.
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Common inkcap - Coprinus atramentarius.
Heddiw - Today.
Mantell goch ar Iorwg - Red admiral on ivy.
Cwlwm y coed - Black byrony.
Cheers J.P
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Does anyone know what the Welsh for murmuration is? As in a murmuration of starlings. Thanks
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Sadly @theresacorbett , no I don’t which is frustrating as I do remember watching a programme on S4C with Iolo Williams about the starlings in Aberystwyth.
You’ll have ink on your lawn soon! Don’t forget to post another pic when it happens. It maybe a myth but I’ve read that you can make ink from them if you manage to process them before they turn black & into an inky state of their own accord.
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Thanks @pippapritchard , I read this very recently, but can’t remember exactly where. I think it was in a book called ‘Severn Tide’ by Brian Waters. It is mainly an account of the changing methods of fishing along the river, but he gives lots of incidental information on the local plants, birds and animals and how they have been used in the past including, I think, a reference to the ink-cap as a source of ink.
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This kind of stuff rarely translates directly - the closest you can get is usually ‘how would you describe a lot of starlings in Welsh?’ kind of stuff - all part of the endless ways in which languages don’t match each other… 
And I’m afraid off the top of my head I can’t think I’ve ever heard anyone particularly describing a lot of starlings… oh, and nor can Catrin, sorry. 
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Haid o ddrudwy - Flock of starling
Llu o ddrudwy - Great multitude (host) of starlings
The murmuration of “starlings” sense is probably derived from the sound of the very large groups that starlings form at dusk.
If this is the case … Welsh also uses “murmur” to mean the sound of bees…and could poetically be transferred to any great number of rustling animals I suppose!
Welsh probably does not have the same specifics like English has acquired…
Murmur o ddrudwy - not wrong…just not used to my best knowledge (my welsh speaking Mam-gu was very into ecology and taught me most of my Welsh in animals and plants but sadly little else!)
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Yes, according to the OED the origin of the word is Middle French meaning
" The action of murmuring; the continuous utterance of low, barely audible sounds; complaining, grumbling; an instance of this."
First use identified in English was in the 14thC and for a collection of starlings or similar in the 15thC
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No ink on the lawn yet, but making the ink is really simple, you just put eight inkcaps in a jar and wait. The ink produced smells pretty foul but some people add a couple of drops of essential oil to make it bearable. The artist who explained all this also showed some prints made by placing the inkcap on paper and leaving for a while. I think I may have left them too long but, what do you think @pippapritchard?
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You should frame it! It looks great. Did you use the cap & the stem to get that effect?
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Yes @pippapritchard I laid them stem-side down on the paper and they collapsed into that position.
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Heddiw - Today.
Rhan Croen Neidr y gwair - Part skin of grass snake (they shed them each year).
Cheers J.P.
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Y gacynen meirch (the stallion wasp … a.k.a the hornet)
Dwi wedi gweld nhw symud i mewn i fy nghwt! / I have seen them moving into my shed!
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I found this on my outside wall this morning. It appears to be a cluster of small yellow eggs with a bedraggled, bent-double caterpillar on top. I didn’t think that caterpillars (lindys) laid eggs. Can anyone identify or explain? The length of the egg cluster is just over 2 cm / 1"
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Dyma Elsa (tu fas) sy’n moyn dod tu fewn. Here’s my granddaughter’s chicken Elsa outside wanting to come in. I think she’s tempting fate by showing how fine she looks on a table. 
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The true answer is i don’t know but it sure is interesting. (would a macro image be possible).
My gess is this was a large caterpillar that was parasitized , that is something has laid eggs
within it which have developed to mature larvae and burst out ,
tomorrow these may have dispersed or themselves turned into pupae for the winter.
All suggestions welcome.
Heddiw - today .
I was walking through a local village when woman i know, said john i have just seen an unusual fungus and am going to get my camera for a photo, can you tell me what it is.
I’m no expert but can try was the reply and i was going down that path anyway.
When i got there it was one of those moments when i think, don’t know it but i know i have seen a photo in one of my large books and this is a bit special.
she soon joined my and photo’s where taken of it and two other species near by.
When i got home, the book was searched and for once this old memory had served me well,
for the first time i had seen this.
Notice the little one beside the fully formed specimen, it is covered in spiny warts and an identification feature of Amanita echinocephela drw gen i, dim enw cymraeg gyda fi.
Cheers J.P.
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(would a macro image be possible
Diolch am dy ymateb / thanks for your response J.P.
Unfortunately my hands are too shaky and my camera is too basic to permit a macro. The cluster and caterpillar were still there today with no apparent change. So here is the best I can do digitally. I think your guess, though gory, is quite possible. Since the length of the entire cluster is about 22 mm, I make the lenght of each egg? about 2mm.
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There’s a short video and a photo lower down on this site.
Warning - not pleasant.
I think that @ramblingjohn is right.
Sue
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