The Nature Thread

John Truax,

Dip those morels in egg yolk, roll in flour, and fry in butter. Brings back memories for me of growing up in Indiana with a dad who was really into mushroom hunting. Enjoy.

Envious I am,

Dennis



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2011 10:36PM by Dennis Tryon.

Took this photo in Latvia. This is perhaps Mesocerus marginatus. I dont know for sure because this creature was hiding from me >:D<

Fantastic thread! wonderful photos and stories from everyone!

I came across this little tortoise crashing through the long grass in Bulgaria a few years ago - he was going faster up the slope than I was!::o

cheers, Colleen



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2011 11:26PM by Colleen Thomson.

Here's one for David and his dad - from the Rare Nature Preserve on Blair Road in Cambridge, Ontario

Wonderful shot, Maggie. Thanks!

Enjoying this thread.Some great photos so far. I often take my camera along to catch photos of wildlife,plants,birds etc on collecting trips. Always looking for interesting things to photograph besides minerals. Here is a photo of a very large laetiporus sulphureus,sulphur polypore,sometimes called "Chicken of the Woods". I found this on a collecting trip near the Consolidated #1 Quarry in Topsham,Maine measured nearly 2 feet across. Very good edible mushroom,fried with butter "Tastes like Chicken" as the saying goes.

Cliff



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2011 02:33AM by Clifford Trebilcock.

My wife, Karla, who rarely accompanies me on my digs took these two nature photos. One of a toad at the Turner Quarry at Mt. Apatite and the other of a gopher in his hole at the Maine Feldspar mine. (or should I say, her favorite gopher,me.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2011 12:24AM by Daniel Levesque.

An excellent thread. Most mineral collectors are fascinated by the flora and fauna that we encounter in our travels. Some of us are experts in the identity of the natural things we encounter outside. Many excellent photographs here. I especially like Doug's Trillium and Crab Spider!


This is a Sheep Moth on Paint Brush encountered near the Keystone Mine, near Coquihalla Pass, BC, Canada



A Columbine from the Silica Bell Claim, near Chilliwack, B.C., Canada



Pine Drops (a saprophyte) from near Washington Pass, Okanogan Co., Washington, USA

Bob Meyer

Some fungus:


Morels found near the Black Pine Mine, near Philipsburg, Montana, USA


The rest of the "Harvest."


Gelatinous fungi on wood in my backyard.

Bob



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2011 03:21AM by Robert Meyer.

Here's a family of bears that visited our man camp in the Canadian Rockies, We were driving tunnels for BC Rail. I took lots of pictures, but I wasn't very good.

Thought I would add a picture of an unknown (to me) fungus I recently encountered. I love the colors.

We're in the middle of winter here. In fact it's been snowing today. Scarlet Robins are a welcome neighbour at this time of year. This one seems to enjoy being a tightrope walker...

Regards
Steve

Hi David,

Think the mushroom in your photo is Hemlock varnish shelf mushroom, Ganodermus tsugae, non edible. Usually found on hemlock or conifers.

Cliff

This topic will cause me to keep my camera with me on my collecting trips more often, as I have missed some good opportunities. However here is one pic of a whale that surfaced right next to our boat on a tuna trip 80 miles out in the Atlantic. The other photo is of an invader (tomato horned worm) in my garden last year. The little cocoons on his back contain little preditary wasps that kill the worms.

Hi all,

Thank you Paul B that you enjoy the pic.

Here are some others from the same Kenidjack Valley that I took the same day.
The first is from a bunch of purple Irisses and the second, only a few feet apart, a Fazant hen ( yummy )




Zenjoy.

Take care and best regards.

Paul.

This is a repeat of a Facebook post - I was on the way to the compost pile and just about tromped on this fellow - I placed him on this branch and he/she/it obliged the photographer. Too bad I wasn't able to get a shot of it's thorax/abdomen - it was the same brilliant iridescent blue. Reiner, the butterfly and moth expert, says it's a milkweed moth.

Nice moth, Maggie. Moths have those feathery antennae. They're pretty cool.

Here are a few from a trip last July to Idaho and Montana:


A Mariposa Lily from the Bayhorse District, Custer Co., Idaho, USA




A Rocky Mountain Iris, Iris Missouriensis, from the Quartz Hill District, Beaverhead Co., Montana



"Strange Creature-Flora or Fauna ?" from the Algonquin Mine, near Philipsburg, Granite Co., Montana, USA

Bob

Clifford, thanks for identifying. The picture was in fact taken in a grove of conifers.

Here is a feel good story I posted on Facebook. Involves the backyard and not an expedition but my friend deserves to be seen by a wider audience.

Two years ago, Baby as we call her, lost her mother to a car crash. She began hanging out in our backyard and following me around at a safe distance. Ultimately, I began to feed her whole wheat bread. She grew and was "adopted" by one of the other does. She now has fawns of her own but she still stops by for a snack and to relax in our yard.

Great thread.
How about this colorless jelly fungus?

How about these?
As those of you familiar with the American South know, cypress (Taxodium spp.) trees grow to enormous proportions. In areas where they are more or less constantly shallowly inundated (which is where they usually grow), they develop characteristic "knees", and the lower trunks develop moderate buttresses.
However, where the water level is highly variable (very deep to dry), they do some weird things...... Like these - no knees, and extremely swollen bases. These are in a creekbed, but you'd never know during the dry season.