Winter Scavenger Hunt

 Sunday brought us a much needed break from deer hunting season and gave us a chance to once again walk in our woods with the dogs.  Although our woods are posted "No Hunting", they are surrounded by other woods that are hunted.  Because our dogs love to run free and don't necessarily know the exact boundaries, we don't take any chances at this time of year.  

Sunday, like the rest of the weekend was drizzly.  There was a break in the precipitation around 11 AM, so we headed out for a walk.  The dogs were ecstatic and ran through the woods following their noses.  

Jack and I took the opportunity to search for winter mushrooms.  The moisture from a couple days of drizzle helped to plump up the fungi that are now growing.  We saw some old favorites and a few new ones... adding to our ever-growing list of local mushrooms.  The woods are now generally monochromatic.  However, if we get up-close and personal, we see lots of activity happening.  Lots of small living things here and there that typically go unnoticed.

An old familiar fungus is the turkey tail.  What was interesting to me about this find was how the mushrooms on the right side of the fallen tree were lighter - it's the side that faces the sunlight.  The left (shady) side had darker mushrooms.  Same species, just changed by exposure to sun or lack thereof.

We found the orange jelly fungus that we normally find on fallen hemlock trees, but this time found two new jelly fungi (also known as witch's butter - but I wouldn't want to put this on my toast!)  Adjacent to the orange jelly is a translucent species known as Crystal Brain.

Then, on another fallen tree... black jelly roll.

This stump had an amazing amount of life happening.  Most obvious is the old puffball mushroom at its base.  

Look closely and you might see two tiny orbs to the right of it, easily missed because of their diminutive size.  (Circled above in red.)

On the top of the stump, amidst mosses and lichens, are some very tiny jelly ear fungi - again, so easily missed!  (Circled above in yellow.)

Another new to us mushroom find was this marshmallow fungus...

and this black honeydew eater fungus (it grows on the honeydew secreted by the Beech Blight Aphid - you might remember me posting a photo of those dancing, white, fuzzy aphids several weeks ago)...

Perhaps the most intriguing find of the day was this...

It is called a zombie moth and it is a moth that has been taken over by the cordyceps mushroom.  If any of you have watched the HBO seried, "The Last of Us", then this will mean something to you other than just an item of fascination.

What a world this is - it never ceases to amaze me!  Walks in the woods are much more than just a way to get some exercise.  Mother Nature provides us with a scavenger hunt each and every time!

Of course, no walk in the woods ever leaves us with a clean dog.  Forrest has an uncanny way of finding mud puddles and making the most of them.  As I've said before... a trip to the pond fixes everything on this self-cleaning dog.