Happy Halloween!

In the golden haze of early morning fog, a spiderweb suspended over my favorite wetland retreat created a beautiful, visual whisper as the light caught the delicately woven strands.

 

It was probably even more ethereal before catching my eye, but once spotted I did my best to capture the soft light on the spider's artistry.

As the sun rose and began to burn away the fog, I noticed a second web suspended beneath the first.

They became more distinct for a few minutes before the misty morning cleared and made them fade into near invisibility once again.

I never saw either of the spiders, so they were clearly poised for a stealth attack on any unwary flies, but even without them, the webs still seemed like a good celebration of creepiness for Halloween. 

Have fun with all the little ghouls and goblins out there!

Thrashing About

Brown Thrashers are favorites of mine. They are very striking, in spite of the fact that they're just brown and buff in their coloration. Sometimes plain brown birds are the best!

 

These fascinating birds are  mimics, singing everyone else's songs, as well as their own.

I had a couple young ones hang around in my yard during the late summer and early fall (warning: expect more pictures later on), before they took off for warmer winter hunting grounds.

This one had a fascination for my deck table and rosemary plant. I never managed to get a good photo of it sticking its face into the rosemary, but it seemed to find something irresistible among the leaves. I don't know if it was finding tiny bugs or if it was finding morning dewdrops.

 

These pictures were taken on a rainy day, so he's looking a bit wet and bedraggled, but his striking markings are on full display - and he's still a cutie!

Surreal Sunset

Occasionally, there is a sunset so spectacular and unusual that it defies description.

 

 
I thought this one was worth sharing and I hope you think so, too.

 
Walking along and watching the colors develop as the sun sank lower in the sky was awe inspiring.

I kept thinking that if I were to try and paint that sky, nobody would believe it was real.

I swear that I didn't doctor these photos at all, except to crop them so they would upload a little faster.

Seriously, the clouds really did that and the colors were incredible. (The silhouette of the late evening fishing boat out on the bay added a little interest to the foreground toward the end of the spectacle, too.)
 

More Monday Mushrooming

 As promised, here is a little more fall fungus fun.

 

I'm still without my reference books at hand, so I'm counting on you mushroom mavens out in the great wide world to help with identification - again.

 

These are from the same walk as the photos from Saturday's post. There were some beauties blooming in the woods.

I took several shots of this mushroom. It was quite dramatic.

The rakish angle of its cap was incredibly chic.

Stark white was a bold juxtaposition to the brown pine needles, sticks and old oak leaves. I *know* I don't want to eat this one.

It's amazing how many different kinds of  mushrooms bloom when the summer heat and drought conditions abate. 

So, it's pretty sneaky for me to make you do all the work, but you'd have had to wait a lot longer for the post, if it was delayed until I got  back home to do the research. Mystery and participation, right? :)

A Few Fall Fungi

By popular demand, here's a small flurry of fall fungus photos.  I'm far away from my reference tomes at the moment, so I'm hoping for an assist from friendly fungus fans. (BetsyLee, I'm looking at you!)

 

These were all along a single morning walk. It is, indeed, the season for mushrooms. (And there are more that will be posted in the next day or two, as I get them ready to upload.)

There are a few of my walking haunts where the smell of mushrooms in the air gets really strong, especially after a nice rain. I'm almost guaranteed to find some interesting specimens on days like that.
 

 

There are also places where the environment is obviously conducive to fungal growth - rotting leaves, decomposing tree snags and moist meadows, for example.

Baloo never understood my fascination for fungus. He'd give them a sniff and move on to look for chipmunks or something else more interesting to canine sensibilities. He was definitely patient with his human.

My brother has tried these little puff balls, but he says the giant ones are much better than these little guys - it takes a big pan full of them to get much to actually munch on, too.

Okay, I hope that will satisfy the fungus fanciers for a day or two. There are more to come. :)

A Rosy Outlook

A couple of immature rose-breasted grosbeaks came to my feeders to rest and refuel on their way south for the winter.

They are very pretty in their own right, although their full adult plumage is spectacular.

The females keep their more muted browns, streaky speckles and a more golden rosy look, while the males become boldly black and white with their distinctive red bib.

On this fellow, you can see the black and white starting to dominate his wings, although when he flies, the underside of the wings will flash pink feathers.

 

In this picture you can make out the red bib coming in under his chin. 

My father used to call rose-breasted grosbeaks "martini birds" because when he first saw one in flight, he thought it looked like a pinwheel spinning through the air and thought he'd maybe taken happy hour a bit too far and was hallucinating. He might, indeed, have taken happy hour too far, but they really do look like pinwheels when they fly.

 

 

Beach Walking

Normally, cormorants hang out on the docks or rocks out in the bay, along with the seagulls and ducks, but this one was taking a rest and wandering along the shore as I took my morning walk.

I don't know if it was trying to dry out after a swim or just resting on its journey south.

Cormorants ride low in the water when they're swimming and dive to catch small fish. They also like to eat crayfish and other water critters, as well as occasional vegetation.

Unlike ducks, they don't have waterproof feathers, so they need to let their plumage air dry.

They are interesting birds, although they tend to make themselves unpopular among sport fishers, since they are pretty voracious diners at the seafood buffet. 

In any event, it was fun to get a closer look at this big waterbird as I went on my morning ramble.

Red Cross

 No, not that Red Cross. The red crossbill. 

 
I hadn't seen one of these birds for ages and I got lucky when I spotted this immature one while out on my morning ramble.

It looks like a young male that is starting to don his red feathers. He's in the phase where he looks kind of speckled and untidy. 

They are primarily inhabitants of coniferous forests, feeding on conifer seeds and they usually hang out in flocks.

I caught this youngster out on his own as he gathered a little bit of grit in the middle of the dirt road where I was walking.

These finch-family birds are so interesting. They have these marvelous twisted bills that cross over when they close their mouths. Hence the name crossbill.

Perhaps their bills adapted to make it easier to break into pine cones to get the little nuts out. In any event, I was delighted to see this fellow. I hope you enjoyed seeing him along with me.

The Big Flap

The sandhill cranes were successful parents again this year. 

Last year they raised two youngsters, but they only reared one this time around. (Junior is in the middle.)

They are losing their fawn colored summer plumage and putting on their winter grays, just like the deer have been doing.

They frequent the big rye field my brother planted, enjoying both bugs and fresh greens. (Junior is on the left in this picture - he hasn't gotten his red cap yet.)

This picture isn't a lot different from the last one, but I simply couldn't resist the Abbey Road vibe, even though they are only the Fab Three.)

One of the parents started getting excited, flapping, hopping and clacking.

This caused Junior to get all wound up to put on a display, too. 

I just love these tall birds. They're so much fun to watch and, since they really like the big field, I can often capture a fun moment or two. 

They will soon fly south for the winter, but we will look forward to seeing them again next year and hope for another successful nesting.

Not Spineless

A couple years ago, I found this plant flowering and was curious about it. The interesting shape of the leaves and the wild, lacy look of the blossoms captured my attention.

 
When I looked it up, I learned it was called wild cucumber. I promised myself that I would check back on it to see what the fruit of this particular vine looked like. 

It took me a long time, but I finally caught one with both blossoms and fruit growing on it. Somehow, the prickly exterior of the cucumber matches the flower's fine, pointy petals.

 
Picking this spiny little fruit for making salad would be a disappointment, though. From what I have read, it seems the fruit isn't fleshy, moist and crisp like the tame vegetable of the same name. Its interior consists of four chambers whose sole purpose is to house the seeds. 

The only traditional uses I can find for this plant are making tea or poultices from the root. Unfortunately, while the tea is supposed to help with digestive problems, nausea and fever as well as rheumatism and kidney disease, its flavor leaves a lot to be desired, since it's quite bitter. The poultice is said to be a remedy for headaches and migraines and might be easier to use, since one doesn't have to endure the flavor to employ it in that fashion. 

I think it's an interesting plant and some people cultivate it in their gardens for the foliage, since it's pretty easy to grow and can be quite ornamental, especially if grown over a trellis or arch support.

Mid-week Mystery #3 (Solution)

 Wow! Once again, you mystery people have amazingly sharp eyes. Well done!

 
So, as usual, here's the original picture that started this particular mystery.

 
Here's the closer view, which was a total reveal for some of you.

 
Yes, it was a green heron, walking on the carpet of water lilies and hunting for fish and frogs.

 

The plumage on these birds is the perfect camouflage for this environment, don't you think?

The greens and purples mimic the water lily leaves incredibly well.

Like their great blue cousins, green herons are extremely patient hunters. This bird worked its little area for quite some time hunting for breakfast. I finally had to leave it to its efforts and head home for my own breakfast, but it was a very enjoyable way to start my day. 

I got some other good pictures of green herons while visiting this wetland on other mornings and will probably share a few of them in another post, but I hope you got a bit of a grin from this little puzzler.