I’ve been wandering around in the woods again. Every time I walk there I see something I didn’t see before. The following photos were taken over a month ago when the trees were changing and we’d had some rainy weather. The rain always brings out the polypores (I just call them shelf mushrooms and have done with it!) that grow on trees. They come in all different shapes and sizes. Take a look.

This tree has an assortment of different kinds.

Taking a closer look, the two in the following photo look like little round cakes or tortes, complete with icing around the edges.

There is of course the albino variety.

This one has its own SBM patch. (small brown mushroom)

This type of polypore always grows on dead birch trees with no exception. I think they like their host family!

To me this one looks like an alligator’s head! 

This tree is trying to grow a beard.

Then there are the other kinds of strange growths.

This one on closer inspection looks like it just burst through the bark in one big eruption.

This one encircled the entire trunk of this tree like a knobby girdle. Looks a bit like a tadpole or some kind of embryo from this angle.

I like these strange appendages to trees and find them interesting. If you don’t find them interesting just wait a bit. They tend to grow on you as time goes by.

Not at my house, but just down the road!

Overnight and this morning we’ve had over 3 inches of rain! Not sure how much longer the trees will be hanging onto their leaves. This was taken mid-week. More color to show you in the next few days!

The night before last we were rudely shaken awake by a rolling clap of thunder. It felt like an earthquake, and we could feel the house shudder. Within one second our bed was taken over by three large, panting, nervous dogs. It was pouring rain—at last. This pattern of heavy rain mixed with sporadic bursts of thunder and lightening that happened only when we had drifted back off to sleep, continued through the wee hours of the morning. We got over an inch and half of rain; but not much sleep. You won’t find me complaining though since our thirst-parched grass and trees really needed a big drink of water. I just wish it would do it during non-sleeping hours.

It feels a bit as if we’ve hurtled through space at warp speed to land somewhere completely different. This morning finds it 38 degrees F outside and we had to turn on the heat. Last week we had the air conditioning on. Can we finally call it Autumn? Has summer finally released her firm, hot grip?

The trees are slower to change this year by at least a week. Last year our trees were in their full glory by the 17th of October, but they won’t be there by then this year. The squirrels and bears are really foraging for acorns. I’ve noticed that we have an awful lot of acorn caps, but the acorns appear to have been “squirreled” away somewhere. Odd. Last year we had tons of acorns left all over the ground. Do they know something that we don’t?

I will be glad to finally put away my summer clothes and bring out my cute little cropped jackets I’ve been waiting to wear. I’m working on a new pair of fingerless mitts  that I hope to have completed soon. They are from a free pattern that Clara at Knitter’s Review graciously gave out in her newsletter to introduce her new book, The Knitters Book of Yarn, which I have ordered.

But, photos of trees changing and finishing my mitts will have to be put on hold for a week. Tomorrow we are off to Sin City: Las Vegas for a week. Rick will mostly be working at a trade show while I have the difficult job of seeing how the Botanical Garden at the Bellagio has been transformed for Fall, lounging by the the 13 flamingo-inhabited acres of pool at our hotel, window shopping, and well ... you get the idea. I’m really looking forward to this little vacation. I plan to at least post a photo per day, so I won’t really be gone; just warped into the land of adult make-believe. I need it. I’ll meet you on the flip side of reality.