A multi-media account of my travels through life
This mother cow and two calves were willing posers this morning as Tango and I took our morning walk around Wilderness Lane. It was a bright, clear morning and the sun was warming as we took time to consider each other. When I was growing up in Sarasota there were many, many cows but now it has become a city and there are fewer of these bucolic scenes. More’s the pity. ❧
This lovely tree trunk caught my eye in Myakka River State Park. So many different lichen, colliding is a wonderful expression of color. ❧
It is, I think, a Cinnabar Cort (Cortinarius cinnabarinus) mushroom. About 2″ in height, it was one of many in the woods at Myakka River State Park this week. About two years ago it was almost impossible to find mushrooms at Myakka. The feral pig population was decimating the population of mushrooms and other edibles. Their destructive pattern of routing through the soil for anything edible was causing great damage to the Park and at last the Park Service authorized a culling of pigs and the hunters did their work. The Park is infinitely healthier for their efforts.
The Cinnabar Cort is relatively common throughout Florida and I have seen numerous stands in many different places. From above it would be easy to overlook except for its rich deep color.
I had never done any macro work with this type of mushroom and was very pleased with the images. I will re-visit the Cinnabar again and promise to share. ❧
Faithful readers know of my love affair with fungi. In the summer of 2013, in the hills of North Carolina, there was a bounty of mushrooms, brought on by abundant rains and a rain forest environment. The colors and shapes captured my imagination and my camera captured their images.
Here in Florida we have mushrooms too, of course. Fungi exists everywhere, even in Antarctica where more than 20 varieties have been found. This particular variety is, I believe, a Fragrant Chanterelle (Craterellus odoratus). About 2″ in height, it was emerging in a cow pasture where there is LOTS of fertilizer for these artful creations of nature. ❧
This young crow was giving me the eye recently… and a handsome eye it is. There is a family of crows that lives nearby and visits the yard frequently. They have really been enjoying my apples. I find half-devoured apples all over the lawn, clearly picked at by large birds and I have witnessed them pecking away with great gusto. Why not? It’s apple season for sure. ❧
Too often in our violent society the term “slug” conjures images of spent bullets and CSI discoveries. But there is an entire universe of living slugs that prove the bane of some gardeners and a treat for some photographers. This fellow was enjoying a meal in the cold, dark woods of California’s North Coast. According to Wikipedia, “Slug is a common name for an apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc.” There are many different kinds but all have the distinctive head with four antennae-like protrusions. The top set are the slug’s “eyes” while the bottom set serve as olfactory tools. All four can be retracted and regrown. ❧
The next time you find yourself whining about a bad day consider this little guy. No more than two inches high, I found him pushing his way through the gravel on our driveway. Let’s give it up for this Little Mushroom that Could. I don’t know which is more impressive…the mushroom or the iPhone that took the picture. It is quite a time we live in. Our pockets bulge with technology that was unimaginable just a few short years ago. The best part is we have it there, at our finger-tips, to capture and share these incredible moments. ❧
Asters are so plentiful and so sturdy. Little blasts of color as the days start to change from summer to fall. The name Aster comes from the Ancient Greek word ἀστήρ (astér), meaning “star”, referring to the shape of the flower head. These wood asters are a gift from friends. We planted them along the side of the house last October and I feared they would not survive the winter but they have returned and are quite robust. We are barreling toward the autumnal equinox and change is already in the air. ❧
This spectacular fungus emerged at the base of an oak tree on Fawn Hill and one of my reference books tells me this fungi is responsible “for making old oaks hollow.” Its color was absolutely stunning and it is quite large, about 6 inches across. ❧
Chanterelle mushrooms on Fawn Hill. ❧
Alice's WanderLand 