The Drum Manor Triffid

Off to Cookstown this weekend searching for the elusive Blackthorn. We spotted some down in Fermanagh but there were not many; I suspect we were parked beside a sloe bush in Cookstown then so we will have to check...

Yip, it was a sloe bush - so we now know of two new sources (in addition to the Nendrum tree), all we need is the first frost and we can start picking.

Encouraged by this first bush, expected there would be more nearby so I wandered off through the forest. Found loads of mushrooms - or toadstools.and what appeared to be blackthorn but with no berries. Next to the field just above the site, a hedgerow formed the boundary between the forest and the open space - a mixture of hawthorn, holly and blackthorn. But still no berries, not even haws.

Kept walking through the trees as the light began to fade. Came across this wondrous tree sprawling with branches all akimbo. In the twilight it looked most impressive but despite various attempts with and without flash and even in the clear light of day (this picture), I couldn't replicate that moment I first encountered it.