IAlthough it is a long walk up the rutted track from Ninebanks to Ouston Fll, the sun is shining through the mist and it feels good being out on the streets. Peewits fly overhead on their rounded wings, swooping in exuberant displays, and tumbling along the track. A few curlews fly among the flock, exclaiming the double note that inspired them, before bursting into full-throated bubbling. Larks rise from the tufty hillside and sing musical notes. We strain to find them against sky or cloud.
After rain, the moor becomes boggy. We can jump into ditches and puddles, or we can make mats from flatten clumps made of field grass. In vibrant mounds of ruby or emerald, sphagnum and sphagnum mushrooms shine brightly. They can hold water up to ten times their weight, slowing down the flow and reducing flooding.
Many fist-sized white blobs are visible against the moorland blue where a narrow sike runs. It feels gelatinous to me, almost like a lump of wallpaper paste. It rocks and wobbles beneath my fingers, an alien strangeness in this barren environment. It’s no wonder it was called the meteorite. star jelly.
One of the white lumps may be the clue. A bloated frog with a squashed stomach and mummified legs, fine pointed toes and an elongated foot. This was a female, possibly a buzzard that I heard calling earlier. If the mucus from a frog’s spawn is too large in the predator’s stomach, it could be regurgitated and expand on contact with rain and wet soil. A second frog is nearby.
It’s not surprising that there are many myths and stories about this rare and strange substance. It was named by John of Gaddesden, an English physician. stella terraeA certain mucilaginous substance that lies on the earth.
The internet is full with theories, and it can still feel strange. Star jelly was something I’d heard about, but this was the first time that I’d seen it. It might have been easy for me to imagine that star jelly was from some unknown place, even though I had never seen dead frogs.
