Mundane but good

I was joined by Steph from Brecon Wildlife Trust for my trip to Cwm Claister above Llangynidr. We postponed starting until the early afternoon, after studying weather forecasts; and I arrived at the parking palace in glorious sun - only to be soaked as I tied up my boots.

But we set off nonetheless, recording as we went into the valley and trying not to get record cards too wet. The sun did return and stayed for the rest of the day so a good day was had with over 100 records in three squares - that may not be record-breaking but satisfying for botanists who struggle a bit with what were still very early signs of spring !

The valley is a lovely spot with old lost trackways lined by very mossy decaying walls:

No amazing finds but good to see Adoxa moschatellina flowering away so soon after the freeze:

Exploration of Cwm Claister Reserve (a newish one for BWT partitioned off from Forestry Commission land) gave us plenty of records - it is a diverse habitat with obviously "interesting" rocks and influenced no doubt by the limestone a little above it. But it is probably the mosses and lichens that are the most diverse - as non specialists we could only wonder at them.

At least I think I know that the last one is a Cladonia spp.

I may have used the word "mundane" in the heading but with a good intent. This is what we need to get stuck into - recording in lovely habitats and enjoying the whole experience !