Yes, I know. I am stuck taking photos of fungi lately. With all our rain I have to take advantage of seeking them out while they are fresh and new. I can’t help it, I find them fascinating. And so many different varieties. Take a look. (Letty, I promise—no slugs!) When possible I have added their names (no, I didn’t make them up even with some you would think so). Some of them I found just in our own woods in our yard, while other were found in the woods near Green Turtle Pond where I frequently take walks.

These were fresh and new the day after the rain. I haven’t identified them yet.

Crowded Parchment. The first one is older; the second photo shows what it looks like when it first blooms.

Mossy Maple Polypore

Let’s look a little closer at this one. Doesn’t this little one remind you of the creature in Alien?

Looking like some kind of exotic coral formation is Radiating Phlebia.

I don’t have name for this one but I loved how it just kept stacking up on itself. It might be Violet-Toothed Polypore (see second photo). Notice the purplish cast?

Not identified.

 

Unidentified.

 

Unidentified, but I love the grayish-blue colors!

 

Turkey Tails! (for obvious reasons)

 

Orange Jelly. Please don’t spread this on toast!

 

Thin Maze Flat Polypore.

 

Birch Polypore; second photo is how it looks from the bottom.

This one has the unfortunate name of Wolf’s Milk Slime. ewww ...

What did you think? Did you find them fascinating or ugly? I think most people don’t even notice them. If you live in a moist environment where you get quite a bit of rain, why not look around and see if you can find some? Pick a day after you’ve gotten some really good moisture and go hunting!

All these are inedible, so please don’t try to eat any of them. I know, I know—you are all thinking to yourselves as if I would eat anything that looked like that ...

Stay tuned for my next post on some very edible and delicious fungi!

I’ve taken several nice leisurely walks in the woods by our house with my camera this week. The fall weather has been glorious with just the right amount of rain. Going through the photos I took, I noticed that there was a theme running through some of them, hence my title for this blog entry.

First there are the trees. The vines wrap themselves around like greedy lovers that won’t let go.

 

 

The leaves.

 

The tree fungi (which I find particularly fascinating) also like to take prisoners. Since they grow so quickly and can appear overnight after a good rain, their prisoners-to-be are taken by surprise.

 

Let’s take a closer look at the one above. It has two prisoners—the branch and the vine which has been captured twice. I think the little slug is just visiting.

 

 

Last week I received a very special gift in the mail. Fellow blogger, Becky, had a contest on her blog for giving away her newly divided iris rhizomes and I was a lucky winner. In fact, we were all lucky winners! You see, Becky’s iris are special. Many of them have been handed down from her mother. They are part of her familial heritage; family heirlooms. Please take the time to read her background story on the iris, it’s time well spent.

We had such hard rains I decided to wait until after all that was over with before planting them. All that rain helped to facilitate the necessary clearing out and pulling of weeds in what had become a neglected part of my flower bed. I thought the spot would be perfect for them as it’s sunny for much of the day and on a slope. (Becky tells me that iris don’t tolerate weeds very well so I will now have an excuse for keeping this part of the bed weed-free.)

The soil here is rich and dark. I kept unearthing these as I pulled up grass that had sown itself in the bed.

The iris have luscious and mysterious names: Hot Dogs & Mustards; Zandria; Alabaster Unicorn; Nigerian Raspberry; Whipped Honey; Silverado; Saharan Sun.

Soon the planting was finished.

I took a piece of paper outside with me and sketched in where I had planted each variety. Then I came inside and made this, just so I won’t forget. I color-coded the numbers with what I remembered their colors to be (sort of) from seeing them in bloom on Becky’s blog.

There were a few with no names, so when they bloom I will take a photo and Becky can identify them for me. Just like having a surprise package!

Here is where they are planted, in the big bed next to the pool.

I hope they like it here in New Jersey—after all they are all from the Midwest and West. And, I certainly hope they like worms as we seem to have an abundance of them! Thank you, Becky! Can’t wait until next year to see them bloom.

This is the time of year that’s sort of in limbo. Summer is over but Autumn isn’t quite here yet. The leaves on the trees are dull looking but still a washed-out green, not yet ready to put on their vibrant show. The undergrowth in the woods has died back and we are now able to see into the woods further than we could a month ago. After our heat wave of last weekend (compliments of Ike) we are now having cool nights in the 40s and lovely days in the 60s. Perfection! So why does part of me want Autumn to come on and get on with it, make the trees change and etc? Why can’t I be satisfied to just enjoy this wonderful fall weather?

The sun is lower in the sky and the quality of the light is much softer. Here it shines through the leaded glass of our front door, creating a wonderful prism on the wall.

The oaks are dropping their acorns and what doesn’t fall to the ground naturally is being helped along by squirrels in the tree tops. Our recently delivered two cords of firewood is finally all stacked and waiting. I look forward to our first fire in the fireplace of the year.

Most things are done blooming now and my garden beds are looking pretty sad and blah. I do, however, have some of this pretty stuff blooming. I don’t know what it is, do you? I think I remember it showing up about this time last year too.

The pool was closed for the season yesterday. We’ll still continue to go down and sit in the cabana but it won’t be the same without being able to look into its blue depths. We really didn’t get much use out of it this year. August was pretty much a washout because the temperatures were unseasonably cool. We’ve had some hot weather this month but too late to bring the pool temps back up to a swimmable level. We really are considering a heater for next year. But they are so darned expensive, both to put in and run.

We have a busy weekend planned. Today we will step back in time and join in the revelry at the New York Renaissance Faire for their last weekend of the season. Rick will don his lace-up leather boots, billowy white shirt and vest, and I will once again put on my bodice and leave my bra behind.

Tomorrow we have tickets to the last ever Yankees game in Yankee Stadium. Should be fun!

Hope your weekend is a good one!

I know, I know. I am failing miserably in my attempt to keep up with the ABC-Along. No imagination lately I guess. So, here goes “O” is for Overtaken.

It started out mildly enough last year with a pretty morning glory vine appearing out of nowhere and covering the lattice work we had just put up to hide Johnny and other outdoor tools. I enjoyed its pretty blooms that start out pinkish-purple when closed, and upon opening turn a periwinkle blue in the morning light. It was a good thing. Or at least I thought so then.

This year that insipid little vine has turned into a clutching, tenacious monster.

I should have known we were in trouble when the lattice work below the deck wasn’t enough for it. It tentatively poked its sinewy, viny fingers up through the boards of the deck.

Then it latched on to the railing and crept its way up and up.

Thwarted in its attempt to go further upwards, it branched out sideways and attached itself to my petunias, like some alien life form searching for blood. I’ll get you my pretty ...

I put and end to that stranglehold pretty quickly.

It also has wound itself around our weather station, which we need to take care of before the anemometer can’t measure the wind speed anymore, but we need a to get the ladder out.

It even worked its way into being a support for this spider’s web.

Here it is in its full summer glory (so to speak).

See how its greedy little arms reach out in every direction?

It’s creepy the way that is keeps making its way further and further. Soon I expect it to reach the second floor of our house, the vine slipping under the bathroom window, creeping along the floor until it reaches our bed, wrapping itself around my neck ... no! whew. So much for not having an active imagination lately.

But it does look rather innocuous, doesn’t it? I think it’s just waiting for its chance.