What’s going on out on the land?
Wolf Trees, Stink Horns and Carrion Beetles
As I looked down at the leaf litter, I noticed quick movement and a small flash of orange and my heart began to sing. My hand shot so fast into the gooey death stenched Cedar leaves faster than anyone could see. Before anyone registered what I had done I was cradling a critter in my closed palm and I felt them defecate their lunch of corpse into my palm. Again kids, never do as I do.
Fungi on Black Walnut
I was out with the Learn The Land class at Arkell Springs the other day where we were looking at some trees and shrubs in their winter attire, when we came across a Black Walnut with a strange looking growth coming out of one of the twigs. We wondered about it for a while and then moved on. My partner and I ended up going back the following day to investigate some more.
The Season of Fungi pt. 3
The last couple of entries on Fungi were mostly about Mushrooms in their conventional forms. I wanted to focus on some cool fungi which don’t take on the shapes many of us are familiar with, but vary in presentation and form. Here are some brief introductions to three which have caught my eye in the past year.
Parasitic Zombie Fungus Infecting Cyanide Secreting Milipedes
I went out with the tracking club on the weekend and while out we kept coming across these yellow and dark brown/black millipedes hanging out on the top of narrow stumps about a meter (~3 feet) off the ground.