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ChrisE, have you always had a cruel streak? Telling us of such pleasant weather when we've been suffering all sorts of horrible stuff...

.........but I'm back here now, as well! We met soe friends there, who weer having a fortnight away.

Hi, Chris!
So what happens when you find a new variety of fern - maybe of course only "new" to the two of you.
Do you photograph it?...take a sample and press it?....take a cutting and try to grow it?
I have no idea, so these may appear to be very naive questions, but I would be interested to hear?
Re the curvature of the ocean.... a large body of water follows the curvature of the earth doesn't it? Although I have never seen this - it's always looked flat to me. Do you have to look at it from a great height, as you did?

Firstly - yes, you only see the curvature from a great height.

Ferns: photographs, certainly, spores - easily replaceable - when the fern is unusual; very occasionally, when the fern is extremely unusual, a tissue sample to send the NHM for confirmation (my wife, the fern expert, was one of the party that found a unique hybrid on Tenerife).

Speaking of weather, there were photos in my local paper of a very unusual phenomenon, think it was near Aberfeldy.
It was "hair ice".
I think it said it only appears on fungus, and disappears if you touch it.

Rusty, I'd never heard of 'hair ice' so have just looked it up. It was interesting and there are some incredible photos online.

I first heard of it a couple of days ago, Malone.
It is certainly fascinating.

Chris, so when you take a tissue sample from a fern, is it done in a similar way to taking a human tissue sample for histology?
Do you take a scraping or cut a 'wedge'?
How do you transport it back - do you put it in formalin?
(sorry, I'm just interested!)

Rusty, I haven't heard of "hair ice".
Is that the same as frost flowers? or are they a different phenomena?

They look different, Elle.
Hair ice is also known as "ice wool" and "frost beard".
It only appears on fungus, I think.

Rusty, it's fascinating!
I have looked them both up.
"Hair ice" as you say, forms on dead wood and takes the shape of silky, fine hair
Only this last year, scientists identified the fungus that is responsible for the formation.
Yes, you are right, a frost flower is something different.....in freezing conditions, the sap in the stem of plants expand, and when cracks form, water is drawn through them, which then freezes on contact with the air. As more water is drawn through, the thin ice layers are pushed further back, causing a thin "petal" to form.
Both are incredible feats of nature, aren't they?
As Malone said, there are some terrific pictures of both instances!