Sunday, July 14, 2019

weekend seen


This chipmunk shinnied up the pole holding the bird feeder.
S/he paused a couple of times on the way up, to look around.
At every pause in the climbing, s/he slowly slid downward,
like a little cartoon character.


But once the buffet was reached,
there was plenty of time to eat and look around.


Ms. Piper also enjoys looking around. And sniffing.
Whatever she was sniffing here, it was fascinating!
She stood perfectly still for a couple of minutes.


We went to the woods today for the very first time this summer.
You may not be surprised to hear that it was very hot and humid.
An hour of walking was plenty.

First we walked down into our favorite little streambed looking in vain for cooler air,
then back along a flat trail that Piper really likes.


The bugs were so bad we both wore the Seriously Awful Spray.
Piper seemed unbothered by the deer flies, thank goodness. 
But if I stopped moving even long enough to take a picture,
deer flies took bites out of my fingers and my face.
Many of the photographs I took today were too blurry to share.


Say, readers, here's a question for you!


Are there any fungi aficionados reading this?
If so, I would love to know if that silvery color on the surrounding vegetation
is an incredibly thin and perfectly even layer of released spores.

There were a few similar examples nearby, at various states of maturity/decay.
Can't think what else it could be, but I'm surprised I've never seen this before.
The color stood out so much, my first thought was
that someone had used marking paint.

And here's another colorful thing, but less mysterious:


a "bead" of a "bluebead lily" in the process of turning blue.
They turn quite a dark blue - this bright, light blue was a surprise.


Well, Piper is sound asleep and the sun is beginning to drop behind the trees,
which means evening chores are waiting.

 Time to get busy.


~~~~~

11 comments:

  1. Deer flies are the worst. They can totally ruin an outing. Piper must have thick fur to not be bothered!

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    1. I thought the spray helped her more than it did me, but maybe it was her shaggy fur! The goats are miserable and no end in sight. They say a major heat wave is building up this weekend which will make the deer flies even worse :(

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  2. I love fungi, but don't know about this phenom. I wonder if it's a spore distribution usually much less concentrated but this year's rains have limited its dispersal? If they normally scatter much further they're probably less visible. This is just conjecture, but fun to think about.

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    1. I've photographed spore release that looked like a little wisp of cloud - no idea what color it was. Maybe I'll put the snap on twitter and ask the mycologists.

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  3. Chipmunks are so fresh! Ugh - I hate when there's not enough breeze to keep the bugs away. The mushroom is really cool - I'd be interested to know if that was spoors on the neighboring plants. Cool stuff.

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    1. The chipmunks are bold, but it's the squirrels that upset the apple cart with their greed - they will eat a suet cake every day if I let them, and the birds don't have a chance. This Cannot Stand!

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  4. That's the trouble with summer - bugs. Especially deer flies and blackflies...horrid things. Chimpmunks are such fun little creatures and you captured a great picture. As for the fungus thing, I have no clue but I think Boud may be onto something.

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    1. Biting bugs are why I love Autumn even more than Spring...we know the bugs are on the way out, not on the way in!

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  5. Not a fan of bugs that follow and chase you when walking. Very irritating indeed. I don't know much about mushrooms but do know that nature is quite amazing.

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    1. I agree 100% on both counts :) Are you pestered by biting bugs on your walks?

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  6. Great and excellent photography. Your color combinations is really awesome. Thanks for such a good items.

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