26th Feb 2012 ... Hope springs eternal

overnight min. temp ...  5.1 deg. calm, mostly clear, rain before dawn.
Moon, Jupiter and Venus close together and VERY visible in the early evening sky.

I was tidying up the front garden and preparing the ground for a broom hedge today (26th) when I noticed this bracket fungi growing on the side of a leylandii stump. The largest of the brackets is 45mm across but I don't know the species......

Bracket fungi

Last nights conditions were near perfect for the time of year but mothwise it was very quiet apart from 3 x Agonopterix heracliana in the first hour of darkness.
I decided to get a few shots of a couple of caterpillars on the walls plus whatever else was kicking about.
During the photo session, a moth had settled on the wall and to my surprise it was a new addition to the garden list.........

Spring Usher, Agriopis leucophaearia

Trap results
  0688 Agonopterix heracliana x 3
 2256 The Satellite, Eupsilia transversa x 2
 2190 Hebrew Character, Orthosia gothica
 1932 Spring Usher, Agriopis leucophaearia   garden first