I was hungry when I saw this fungus sprouting off a tree trunk: all I could think of was pancakes.
From the other side and a bit higher up, imagine a drizzle of amber colored maple syrup as you ponder the pine needle stabbing the biggest cake.
Dangling from a slim tree branch a wasp nest adds to the decoration of this pond-side tree.
A closer look shows that there is not much supporting the nest. I didn’t see any buzzing activity and don’t know if wasps spend the winter in these nests or hunker in more weather resistant homes.
Stabbed by a pine needle
This rather large fungus looks a bit like a pie…or my mind is still on Thanksgiving.
Welcome!
The large cap of this dark mushroom caught my eye as I crossed a large lawn under a stand of pine trees.
The cluster of smaller, overlapping mushrooms behind it was pretty interesting, too.
Taken from above, the cluster looked like buttons, although these don’t look like the button mushrooms sold at the grocery store.
From a distance it looked like something man-made, maybe a piece of trash stuck in the tree trunk by a human.
Fortunately it turned out to be nature-made.
And quite bizarre looking, sort of like a lava flow.
A close up view of the strands:
Doing what Great Blue Herons do, stand and watch.
The view has opened as the canal-side grasses are turning brown and some recent heavy rain has knocked some down. He wasn’t as hidden as he would have been a month ago in this spot.
This was the first Monarch Butterfly I saw this summer, on August 26. And I don’t think I’ve seen one since.
He was very industriously feeding on Lantana.
Twisting and turning as he went I got a few body views.
I passed by a number of creatures moving about in the greenery on a recent walk. First a Carolina Anole balancing on a frond.
Then a grasshopper checking out a dried cattail reed.
And a Tree Frog, just hanging on.
A bee disappeared into the center of this wild Morning Glory and I waited at the ready for him to come out.
And waited.
Finally, I was starting to think that maybe I’d missed him and he awkwardly backed out.
And slowly took off casting a shadow on the bloom.
