A Closer Look at Ottoman

Details in the Forest

On a recent hike (we've been really lucky that our days off together as a family have been dry), Jeff mentioned that I seem to be able to notice all these little fungi, lichens, mosses, and such rather well...which is where that "tune into channel fungi" comment came from; I think it's just a matter of looking down rather than forward whilst walking, slowing down, and trying to find these bits on the edge of the trail. Here are some details I found on yet another hike:

A puffball!

Pixie Cup Lichen

Boo found this lovely, velvety brown moss.

This mushroom was absolutely luminous!

I think these may be remnants of the California Ground Cones I found in the spring.

I'm guessing that that is a slime mold.

And, by the end of the hike, Jeff was tuned into channel fungi as well; Boo's pretty good at noticing things that are small, especially because he's closer to the ground, so he has a lot of fun on our little nature hikes. I think that these fall fungi hikes are going to be a new family tradition.

Earthstars

I excitingly found a small grouping of Earthstars whilst hiking recently. They simply made my day. I know it seems that you've tuned into channel fungi around here lately, but it's what's inspiring me right now and it's simply the time of year for them. I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am.

Sneak peeks of the new work is slow coming, I know. Frankly, this new work is time-consuming and I keep finding more and more ways to make it better and better...it's pretty exciting!

Thanksgiving Hike

The boys and I decided to go on a hike on Thanksgiving (I know, that was over a week ago already...crazy) since the sunny days now are limited, we just happened to luck out that day.

above: White Bird's Nest, according to the book in this post.

A good day for noticing the details.

This Year, It's the Thanksgiving Cactus

My Christmas Cactus gave it's best show yet this year, however on Thanksgiving rather than Christmas.

Bird's Nest Fungus

I first spotted this fungus, I believe, in the spring. I noticed that the fungi looked like yellow lentils on the ground. Then, over the summer, I spotted brown cups on some of the bark chips and Jenny reminded me of those lentil-looking fungi...of course! This fall, on closer inspection, I saw little seeds or spores in the cups. Then, I happened to find a vintage book I had been pining for at Powell's during a quick weekend get-away.

There it is, Common Bird's Nest. If you're observant, you'll notice that the subtitle of the book is dated, but still, the book is a gem. On a wee bit of further research, I learned that there are five species of Bird's Nest Fungus and I'm not totally sure yet if the one I found is still called Common Bird's Nest. Those "eggs" it notes are peridioles that contain the spores.

I'm starting to achieve my goal of "mushroom" hunting for the fall.

Where the Fox Lives

Our resident fox, who makes herself known by her ocassional repeated hoarse yelp, lives in a den made of blackberry brambles. I often wonder about the extent of her tunneled network, yet the mysteriousness of it all (I've only seen her once or twice in these four years) is rather enchanting.

I'm still slowly working on the new work. As of yet, it's mostly non-visual work, but I will share when there is something picture-worthy.

Succulent Garden

Here is the current status of my succulent garden (minus the large christmas cactus), of which I plan to double its size...once I find another thrifted pan to contain them and protect the wood of the table they are inhabiting.

The large pot with the two plants are cuttings from my mom that I got when we visited last month. I let them callus over on our trip home and then just stuck them in the soil. They're a bit chewed up; apparently, they are a juicy delicacy to some sort of creature in my parents' hot and dry climate.

I started stitching some new work (well, some experiments and tests) today...similar to the "old" work, but with some added content....sneak peeks soon, methinks!

Terrarium Trick

I discovered (out of desperation) that inverted terra cotta saucers make good bases paired with glass domes for a makeshift terrarium. I received this wee plant from Boo, bit it didn't have a saucer. And since it's a fern, I thought it would do well in a terrarium environment. I had a dome, but I didn't want the wood base to get wet, so I grabbed a larger saucer, turned it upside down et voila! Bonus: since the saucers are graduated, the dome doesn't have to be the exact size to fit!

Pinecone-like

For the holiday weekend, my wee family and I went hiking about our local area. We found some curious, yet past their prime, pinecone-like blooms. After a quick search, it seems they are California Ground Cones. I think they're lovely and I hope to see them next year a bit earlier in the season. Strange I'd never seen them before...so much to discover!

Pop!

I knew that as soon as the sun finally showed itself, the crabapple buds from a couple of posts ago would pop. And so they have. I took this picture at least a few days ago and already the ground below the tree is carpeted with white petals.

It's windy here today. I think a storm may be blowing in, but maybe the one that caused it to rain all night is blowing out. However, does sunny weather ever blow in? I briefly went to the farmers' market today for some tamales for dinner and the vendors were all having to hold their tents to keep them from blowing away.

It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow, but I'm having my doubts. It's okay, I like spring weather, it always goes by too fast.