Rock Stars

Most of the herring gulls have flown south already. I'm hoping that they didn't get a head start because a really hard winter is on the way. I do wonder about that, though, because last year, they stuck around through the cold months and they are really smart birds. They might just know things.

 

Not long ago, I took a walk along the shoreline and noticed that the seagulls that were still around were standing on rocks out in the bay.

 

I loved the reflections on the water. 

I also learned that the darker gulls are youngsters and the white ones are adults of breeding age. It takes gulls four years to reach adulthood and, during those years, the immature birds slowly lose the mottled brown feathers. First, they lose the speckles, then, they turn from brown to more gray with their heads turning white first and then finally the rest of their plumage becomes white with the classic black and gray wing and tail markings.

This fellow couldn't find a rock that rose above the surface of the water, but seemed happy to have wet feet as it watched the world go by. 

I picked up a couple of other fun seagull facts during my research. These adaptable birds can drink both salt and fresh water. They have a special gland that helps them secrete the excess salt. Another interesting thing is that they have the a very keen sense of smell and can sense food from up to three miles away. I thought that vultures were the only birds able to do that. It just goes to show how little I know! And it's great that there's always something new to learn. 

 

Sassing and Snoozing

There's a cheeky little chipmunk that hangs around behind my house, scolding, gathering stray sunflower hearts and other marvelous morsels (it's the same fellow that took full advantage of the black raspberry crop).

 

One day, I stepped out the back door to find it lounging on the edge of the deck.

I guess it has decided that I'm not really that frightening, even with the whir of the camera lens extending. Its eyes just kept getting droopier and its head dropped ever so slightly. Even drowsing, it looks like it has a bit of an attitude.

It couldn't quite bring itself to fall fully asleep in my presence, but it came pretty close. I finally went back inside to let it nap in peace. 

I guess it isn't too much of a mystery why I'm not considered much of a threat...

Baloo, on the other hand, would have been a completely different matter!

 

 

Field to Table

In the spirit of more fungal frivolity to start the week (although I'm not sure I can make Mushroom Mondays go on much past the first freeze), I thought I would share a successful mushroom hunt.

My brother and I checked a few spots where we've found chanterelles growing in the past, since they seem to have favorite environments where they appear from time to time, when the conditions are right.

It's always a thrill to spot patches of bright yellow in the woods (although, sometimes aspen leaves that have fallen early can trick a person)! As you can see, we had some excellent luck and found a couple blooms that made our efforts quite worthwhile.

We shared some of the bounty with an Amish elder that loves mushrooms and sometimes shares some of the shiitake mushrooms he grows on logs harvested from our family property for that purpose.

Each of us kept a beautiful bag of chantrelles to take home for future fungal feasting.

It's nice to have a few little packages in the freezer to break out for a special meal. 

Yum!

Showtime!

As I mentioned in Monday's mushroom post, I have been preparing for an art show.

 

Since some of you wished me well, I thought you might enjoy seeing the outcome of my effort.  I got to the venue early and still barely had time to get everything set up before the doors opened to the public, but this was my display.

It was a good show that benefits the local library and is a nice way for area artists to show and sell some of their work.  I always enjoy getting to see what people respond to and which carvings they like (or don't). Sometimes the pieces I like the best don't come anywhere close to being show favorites. Other times, I'm surprised and delighted that a print I wasn't at all sure would go over well is met with enthusiasm. 

I always learn a lot!

Daisy Day

I always enjoy the bright daisies that grow wild along the trails.

 
They are such cheerful looking flowers.

They also attract other admirers. The flowers above have a visiting beetle enjoying a rest on the golden yellow center of one of the blooms.

Then, I was delighted by this young gentleman enjoying the morning sun and bright blossoms. His little spike antlers are still in the velvet, but I've seen a few that have completely lost that covering.

He didn't seem too concerned about my approach and I thought he looked quite charming standing among the daisies. He definitely knew how to strike a dashing pose!

Mushroom Monday

I'm preparing for an upcoming art show this week, so I am not going to take the time to look up all of these fungus friends. It has been quite dry this summer, so it was nice to see them bloom after some recent rains.

 
I know, I  know! I usually look everything up, but I promised some fungus and I wanted to deliver it before too many more days had passed. (This one looked a little like it could be a russula of some sort, maybe.)

This one was just emerging from the duff - white and gilled, with  no noticeable veil.

The colors, textures and shapes were so varied, it was amazing that they were all out the same morning. (Another russula - emetica, perhaps?)

I knew who some of these beauties were from previous introductions, but not all - the one above is a coral of some kind, but without research, I can't claim to know which.

This one didn't make it through breakfast and I'm not sure there was enough left to identify. Somebody thought it was tasty, though, and it made me smile.

These little umbrellas were tiny and very fragile. Pinwheel marasmius, I think...  Or something close.

These, on the other hand, looked like sturdy little shelves. A polypore of some kind.

These looked like well placed stairs for a nimble woodland nymph to climb into her tree's upper branches. Red belted polypore, if I remember correctly. These and the tinder polypore also remind me of little caps hung on the side of a tree by some magical creature coming home.

And the little spiny puff balls looked like they were nested so carefully among the grasses - I almost missed these guys hiding a little way off my path. 

I'll wager BetsyLee can identify these guys (well, except maybe the breakfast leftovers) and I might make a run at it after Saturday's show, if nobody else decides to take up the challenge -- you could almost think of it as another kind of puzzle. (Evil, yes?)

Okay, back to carving, printing and prep work! Wish me luck!!

Another Puzzler? #3

Here's the solution to the weekend puzzler. The first two pictures are reminders, so you can see the wider puzzle field before we zoom in.

 
Sharp eyes spotted the subject right off (you guys are good!).  It caught my eye in the expanse of water lilies, too.

 

Here it is again, sticking its neck out just a little farther. If you haven't focused in on it yet, look just to the right of center in the picture above.

This enterprising otter had just caught a fish and was enjoying it immensely in the shallows out in the middle of the wetland area.

It was a beautiful morning to be out fishing for breakfast.

The otter finally spotted me and came swimming over to let me know I had been busted. It would swim closer, then stop and bark at me and then swim closer again to bark and blow some more.

It was a brave and curious little beastie to come and challenge the big interloper invading its territory. Also, very cute. 

I hope you enjoyed this small puzzle -- I certainly enjoyed my morning encounter with this guy.
 

Another Puzzler? #2

Okay, so you don't have to go look up yesterday's post, here's the reminder of puzzle installment number one.

I've been taking morning walks up to this area quite a lot lately and there are so many great things to see that it's going to take me a while to share all of them. 

Clue number two isn't a lot closer, but I think it's still a pretty good hint. I'll put the zoom into full action tomorrow. (And you can click on these photos to enlarge them, if you'd like.)

Another Puzzler?

I'm not sure this one is going to be a lot harder than the last one, but I thought it might be a little bit of weekend fun. Let's see what we see!

Installment number two will come tomorrow.
 

Bees and Vipers

Out in what we refer to as "The North Field" on our family property is where we have largest of the garden plots, but it's sort of in the middle of a big, grassy area dotted with wildflowers and occasional islands of trees that have been surrounded by wild raspberry canes (they grow up where my brother can't get the tractor for mowing).

 
While out tending the garden one day, I heard the humming of bees and walked over to investigate.

There was a lovely little patch of viper's bugloss blooming and the bumblebees were happily buzzing along from blossom to blossom.

I like viper's bugloss - it's a sweet and simple little flower that has lovely pink pistils that harmonize beautifully with the blues and purples of the petals. They're also pretty common, growing wild in fields and along roadsides, feeding bees and decorating the world.   

I did wonder about the unattractive sounding name, though, and in reading a little about this plant, I learned that it got its name from the spotted stems, which some folks apparently thought looked like snake markings. That wasn't my first thought or reaction, but everyone is different. The bugloss part of its name comes from the Greek word meaning "ox tongue" and refers to the tongue shaped leaves.  So, Shakespeare was onto something when he waxed eloquent about "What's in a name..." -- this is still a lovely little flower, in spite of its unfortunate moniker. :)

 

The Things I Do for the Birds....

I have noticed for many years that the chickadees like to drink water out of the ant barrier cups I put up for the hummingbird feeders.  It doesn't matter how much water is available in bird baths, they just seem to love to drink out of small dishes.

 
Finally, a light bulb went off in my brain and I decided to take the bottom portion of a hummer feeder that wasn't in current use and fill it with water and hang it up just for the chickadees.

Not surprisingly, the curious birds discovered their new water source almost immediately. 

There was even some wild winging around it as more than one bird tried to get a drink at the same time. Mostly, they waited patiently for their turn.

It was fun to see them approach the dish from different angles.

I loved the completely upside-down drinking posture, though. If you have chickadees, I highly recommend giving them a dish like this to drink from. It's much more popular than the bird bath that I have hanging nearby.  

I'm a little slow on the draw sometimes, but I did finally figure it out. I told my sister about how popular this was and she put a dish out for her birds, too.

Lovey Dovey

Mourning doves are lovely bird visitors to my back yard. Their colors are so soft and unobtrusive, yet still quite beautiful.

 
I love the little hot pink feet.

The browns and grays turn sort of turquoise when the sun catches the feathers just right.

The blue eye shadow is very pretty, too.

Their spotted wings provide extra camouflage and they can almost disappear into the grass and leaves.

There's a fairly big flock of these beauties that frequent the feeders and the rest of the yard. They're always welcome, even if they do devour a ton of sunflower hearts.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Well, not really chicken dinner, but Hen-of-the-Woods dinner. That's even better!!

 

My brother and I were gifted a huge hen-of-the-woods mushroom. He shared some with one of his mushroom hunting friends and we split the rest.

 

As you can see, when you get one of these mushrooms, it's usually a big deal in more ways than one.

After cleaning it all up, I sauteed it in a little butter and olive oil and have several packages in the freezer to enjoy over the winter. It's great for soups, in omelettes or rice pilaf - you get the idea. It's a delicious mushroom and will enhance any dinner. No chicken required. We definitely felt like winners. 

Yum!!