Fanciful Fungus

I noticed this charming mushroom nestled in a bed of moss on the stump of a tree and  in the shade of a young tree that had grown out of and around the remains of its parent. 

 

It looked quite regal and comfortable on its grand throne and bright green cushion and I fancied that it might be a perfect shelter for some tiny, magical creature. 

Imagine my delight when I looked in my mushroom identification books and decided that it must be a Dryad's Saddle. It's always so satisfying when the flights of my imagination are supported in any degree by reality. 

One of the books also said that it smelled and tasted like watermelon rind. I confess that I didn't give it a sniff test, since I didn't know this at the time and I didn't want to disturb its repose.

Ruminating...

I always enjoy getting to take candid pictures of critters going about their daily rounds - even when they're not going anywhere.  After all, I often feel like I'm not going anywhere, myself!

This sweet doe was lazing comfortably in the fallen leaves and ruminating - probably both literally and figuratively.

We know the literal part for sure, because even when she finally decided to stand up and stretch, she just kept right on chewing. After giving me a good look, she decided I wasn't any kind of a threat and just kept on browsing and nosing around for acorns and other goodies in the leaf litter. I think this picture also looks like she might be having a friendly conversation with a buddy, which makes me smile.

And, of course, on the heels of the Thanksgiving weekend, one does wonder about the benefits of a four chambered stomach!

Trekking Through the Trees

Shortly before the snow fell, I took a walk along one of Baloo's favorite trails - there were always lots of fascinating smells and he would occasionally get to startle a chipmunk or squirrel along the way.  While I enjoyed the antics of the small, furry beasts, I tended to look for other interesting things like birds, flowers, mushrooms and little oddities along our way.  On this particular occasion, I was looking for mushrooms. BetsyLee had expressed a desire to see more fungi here on the blog and it was a good motivation to get out on a trail I hadn't walked since Baloo was by my side.

Though I didn't see many mushrooms, I did find a cozy little den at the base of an oak tree. It looked like a very welcoming entryway with a leafy carpet leading to the door.

 

The walk sort of took a turn in focus and had me noticing trees, since mushrooms were in very short supply and the rapidly falling leaves made it easy to see farther into the woods than usual. I liked the gnarly growths on these two beech trees. Natural sculpture.

Most of the mushrooms I saw were either dried up or in a state of collapse. However, in keeping with the tree theme, these charming polypores were growing on a birch just a short way off the trail. The contrast between the rough bark and the smooth surface of the fungi, as well as the muted grays and tans caught my eye. 

So, even when a walk doesn't go quite as planned, there's always something to appreciate along the way.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a quick post to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you have a wonderful time with family and friends. I know that I have a great deal to be thankful for this year, even with the challenges that have come my way. I am particularly grateful for all of you. So, here's a word from someone who knows quite a lot about such things.

(I hope this works, as I  have never successfully posted a video before, and I can't seem to test it before publishing!)

 

 Just in case it doesn't work as it should, here's another happy gobbler to wish you a wonderful holiday!

Carving Stuff

Procrastination has ended (at least for one specific goal). I have finally started working on possible designs and carves for my Christmas card this year - and also invoice images! I'm not sure this is going to be the winner, but it's what I've been chipping away at for the last couple of days.

I know, I know! I carved a deer in the snow a couple years ago, but this image called out to me. I'm going to have to put it aside for a day or two to see if my opinion of it will improve with a little distance. 

Also, remember way back in August when I told you that I had scraps and bits of odds and ends that I would include in your package if you asked? Well, I still have some, have found more experiments and have created some new ones. This is what the pile looks like at the moment, as it sits on the packing table awaiting requests.

There is quite a variety of bits and pieces including PZ Kut (yes, really), Firm Kut, OZ Kut, Tan-Z Kut and a number of things that were experiments that I never had full runs made of.  As you can see, some of these have images already on them that I decided I was never going to carve, but a quick acetone scrub would fix that (or flipping the block over and using the other side). These are great for inchies, hitchhikers, fleas, bits of text and other small carvings. So, if I'm sending something your way anyway, just let me know you want a handful of extra odds and ends and I will make it so. 

The Big Mon

I warned you that there would be one more post about mandolin camp and the fallout from the experience, so here we go. 

I had been interested in getting a better mandolin than the one my brother got me started with and he was encouraging me to upgrade, too. During camp, I asked each of the instructors for instrument recommendations (short of getting an antique Gibson or a custom made extravaganza that would be way beyond my budget) and they each had really good suggestions. Then, I did a bunch of research about each of the possibilities. 

My brother and I took a road trip to the Northfield showroom and tried out a number of mandolins (all of which had good features and would have served me well).  After playing and narrowing the field to a couple of favorites, this is the little beauty I ended up getting. It's not only quite lovely to look at, but it has an amazing presence and sounds fantastic. It's a way more marvelous instrument than I even begin to deserve at my level of ability, but I'm practicing hard and hope to eventually play up to its capabilities - or at least get a lot closer than I am at the moment!

I'm sparing most of you the excruciating details, but if any instrument affectionados are reading this and want to know the technical specs, just ask and I'll be happy to give more information. 

One of the camp teachers told me that I'd probably never need another mandolin after this. I believe him!

Mandolin Magic

There was enough interest in my mandolin camp adventures, that I am going to share a little bit about the experience, which was amazing.  

My personal mandolin saga began about five years ago, when my brother handed me a mandolin and asked me to play with him for an event in honor of an old family friend. I learned a three chord wonder song and sang harmony with him. We've been playing and singing together ever since. There's nothing quite like sibling harmony.

Since that fateful day, I've been trying to teach myself how to play, with books and online videos and just stumbling around. I had reached the point where I felt I was on the edge of beginning to understand something about the instrument and needed some help to fall off on the right side of that edge. I searched for mandolin camps in my state and there was one quite close to me, so I signed up! And, oh, talk about pre-camp jitters!

Great Lakes Mandolin Camp was held near the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore, which is quite beautiful. This is the sunrise viewed through my bedroom window the first morning of camp.

It was a weekend full of mandolin immersion, with classes taught by superb mandolin players, jam sessions (structured and informal), individual master classes, student and faculty concerts and lots of great stories about mandolin legends.

Brian Oberlin, the camp organizer, Emory Lester and Don Stiernberg taught a number of different mandolin playing styles ranging from classical and jazz to swing, bluegrass and old time. You can look these artists up online and listen to some of their music, if you're interested. They all have YouTube videos, websites (and CDs you can purchase, if you are captured by the sounds). 

 

Music theory was the easy part for me, since I took both voice and piano lessons in my youth, but there was so much information that sailed right over my head that I have plenty to work on and try to master before next year's camp (I have been practicing like mad and I can at least dream about mastering the material, right?).  So, yes, I'll be going again, if it's at all possible. 

Oh, and there will be another post about one of the results of this weekend adventure. How's that for a teaser?

 

Chomp

Yes, that's what we call this sweet doe - no insult intended.

She had an unfortunate encounter with someone who took a big bite out of her left ear, but she doesn't seem to let it bother her. We can see her grazing out in the rye field most days as we go about our chores. It took a while to get a picture that would show the origin of her name. 

Do you get the sense that we have our favorite visitors? We do. There are a few that stand out and we notice them. After a while, we can recognize them at a distance by the way they walk or the length of their face. It's fun to get to know the cast of characters a little bit.

They really like the fresh greens to help them prepare for winter and it's amazing how they keep it all mowed to lawn grass length.

Additional Autumnal Antecdotes

Skeins of geese are once again winging their way southward, looking for better grazing as winter draws nearer. 

They can be heard even in the dark, as they honk their way to greener pastures and open water.

 

Eagles also follow open waters south to areas where fish can be caught.  There was a place in Missouri, not far from where I lived where migrating eagles would stop and hunt to refuel for their continued journey. There were a few weekends a year that were pretty amazing to behold.

 

Other signs of birds leaving the area are empty nests that can be seen in shrubs and trees as the leaves drop and reveal their hiding places. I particularly liked this one that was woven into an autumn olive. The bush just kept right on growing into the nest and ended up making berries part of the fabric.

I can't help but think of Baloo when I see the ripe autumn olives - he loved them so much and ran from bush to bush to eat as many as he could before I told him he'd had enough. I've been eating a handful or two in his honor each time I pass his favorite snacking area. The boy had good culinary instincts - they're quite tasty.

The Hair of the...?

Way back in the days of my youth, we would occasionally find hairworms in buckets of water or puddles after a rain storm. 

 

 

 

The story my father told us about these odd and interesting creatures went something like this: if a horse hair found its way into the water, overnight it might turn into one of these long, wriggly worms. I believe this was a bit of old and well spun tale telling that had been passed on to him and he couldn't resist teasing us with it. Hence, these particular beasties are also called horsehair worms.

They are usually found in shallow water in late summer or fall and they are actually a parasitic worm that develops in crickets and other insects that are unfortunate enough ingest the larvae while either drinking them as they slake their thirst or while nibbling plants on which the larvae have created cysts to hide in waiting for a host to come along. From there, they develop entirely in the body of their host insect and emerge as adults when the host gets thirsty again and goes to another puddle or pool where the worm emerges and starts the cycle again, laying lots of eggs in the water. 

I hadn't seen one of these in years, so spotting this one was unexpected and fun. They're totally harmless to humans and other animals and are considered mildly beneficial because they exert a little bit of control on grasshopper, cricket, cockroach, cicada and other large insect populations. 

Yet another name for them is Gordian worm, since they are so flexible and can twist themselves into knots!

So, here we have a tale of the dangers of drinking - at least for crickets and their ilk! You just never know what peculiarity I might stumble across!!

A Turkey Tail Tale (by Special Request)

 BetsyLee requested more fungi, so here we go!

I have always found Turkey Tail mushrooms fascinating. They grow in large groups and can range in color from tans and greens to browns and grays.

The origin of their name is sort of obvious, since they do, indeed, look like turkey tails all fanned out and ready to strut.

This snag was liberally coated with them and some of the growth configurations were really interesting.

My particular favorite was this twig that had them growing all around it, making it look like a spindle with lots of small, crumpled pieces of parchment impaled on it. 

So, that's the turkey tail tale for today - and it seems appropriate since it is November, after all, and Thanksgiving will be upon us before we know it!

A Fork in the... Field

Spike was introduced to this blog a little while ago. Well, here's another in the cast of characters. This is Forky. (Yes, they'll have to go through name changes next year, since they'll be growing larger antlers...) He's been hanging around helping to keep the rye and wheat grasses (not to mention the turnips) mowed. It's amazing how the deer just keep grazing over it and cropping it short - it's a big field, after all.

 

We keep seeing this handsome fellow hanging around with Spike and some of the other young males, as well as the herd matriarchs and this year's fawns from time to time.

He knows that nobody is going to bother him, so he just sort of goes about his business while my brother and I are going about ours.

I love this picture of him licking his lips - that must have been a particularly delicious turnip sprout or something!

Then, of course, there's proper grooming and scratching the itches.

I liked this side view picture because of the interesting pattern in his fur right around his ear. It almost looks like a star in a slightly rustier color. (Click the picture to enlarge.)

Finally, here he is hanging out with one of the does on a rainy day. I can't believe I caught her in the act of shaking off the excess water. That was fun - but then, as you know, I'm easily entertained.

Dunes Buggy

I went to mandolin camp a couple weeks ago (yes, you read that right) and before I headed for home, I took advantage of the fact that I was right near the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore and took a lovely walk along one of the winding trails leading through the dunes.

Before making its way to the actual dunes, the path led through the woods, where there were all kinds of migrating birds chattering in the trees. I managed to catch a couple warblers perched and peering at me out of the foliage (you might need to click on the photo to enlarge it in order to find both of them, since they blend in with the yellow leaves - and are nearly the same size).

Sticking with the yellow theme for just a minute, after emerging from the woods, I came upon some showy goldenrod growing bravely in the sand. It is showy, isn't it? It belongs to the aster family and is quite popular with pollinators.

I finally got high enough to glimpse Lake Michigan over the dunes and, if you look closely, you will also see some birds dotted against the sky. We'll get back to those shortly.

There were spectacular views all along the trail, as well as interesting flora and fauna.

The birds I mentioned earlier were a migrating flock of horned larks and they would soar into the air whenever they felt disturbed by something and then swoop back around to alight in the dune grasses to forage, disappearing entirely - at least to the naked eye or my camera. I couldn't manage to get a closer look at these birds.

Snags left by long deceased trees created interesting sculpture gardens here and there. Those trees had a rugged life out in the wind and sand. 

Dune grasses were another visual treat, especially when juxtaposed with the blue of the sky.

Seriously, aren't the tans and blues beautiful together? 

 

So, all in all, it was a lovely and peaceful walk after an amazing four day musical immersion experience!  I may even share a little about that, if anyone seems interested!