Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Urban wildlife interface

Moose and squirrel?

No, cat and squirrel.




Endless entertainment for both parties,





 although the cat swears he's going to gut the tree rat.


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

A bit of rain

As document at points north, and points north and east, drought hasn't broken but it has at least bent with some storms over the last few weeks. A slightly early monsoon summer that's trying to work up some decent moisture. I hold out faint hopes for quail this fall.

A and I got out and about a bit, heading over to our local mountains:










We found a couple of mushrooms, to wit- shaggymanes, but they were just off a well traveled road, so we admired but did not harvest:





More recently, we hit some of our old stomping grounds with some friends, checking out the fungi scene. A few shaggymanes, some puffballs, some others, but apart from this find:



(you must embiggen, once done, you're looking at a field expedient harvesting tool, a/k/a a knife taped to a stick, used to cut oyster mushrooms just too far up a dead aspen for the unassisted reach of man).


We also saw a couple of grouse, including a hen with chicks and a cock-bird unaccountably strutting back in the trees.







All in all, positive signs. A little more rain and things won't be nearly as grim come fall and winter.


Thursday, July 04, 2013

Celebrating Independence Day

and wishing you all a happy 4th of July





(Watermelon, too, is a Chesapeake Heritage Food)