Category: Nature

To reiterate, mushrooms are creepy.  And yes, that’s based on traumatic childhood events.

Liz was trimming back the mint, which as expected was overwhelming the herb garden, and uncovered this:

At the time, she recoiled a little at the sight, and exclaimed that there was a bee nest in the mint.  It did indeed look like a nest of some kind–sort of papery, like a wasp’s.  I certainly don’t mind the majority of arthropods, but I don’t relish coming into contact with them either.  If it was indeed a nest, and those were larvae within, then…gross.

But I’ve never encountered any sort of nest like that, nor did it seem like a good nesting spot, so I had my doubts.  Anything this weird, if not an insectoid machination, must be fungi.  I snapped this picture and decided I would look into it later.

Later came after attending a résumé-building session.  I was asked to coach.  Interesting, that sometimes people want to know what I have to say.  I’m more accustomed to shouting into the void.  But anyway, I needed a respite, so I pulled up my photos and saw this.  The search began.

I did not find any insect nests that resembled this, so I pursued my second theory.  It wasn’t long before I discovered Bird’s Nest Fungi.  It was one of the easier fungus identifications, due to it’s unique appearance.  There’s a variety of species of course, but the family is Nidulariaceae.  It’s possibly Crucibulum laeve.  Wikipedia says they are not edible, they grow in mulch (appropriate since they were growing in potting soil), and release spores when struck by raindrops.

One more fungus species added to the catalog.

–Simon

This is another Wisconsin post.

I’m happy that my daughter, despite her girly-girl side, still enjoys getting her nature on.  We’ve fished before, and she’s caught her own, but this is the first time that she’s actively fished for an extended period without regular intervention.  And she was quite successful at it, too.

After the first day, the bluegills started swarming the dock, which made the fishing instantly gratifying–something which might have influenced her prolonged interest.

However, I was more interested in trying to catch a bass.  So after I de-hooked her 100th bluegill, I noticed a smallmouth bass near the shoreline.  I pointed it out, and told her what it was.  In a jokingly dad moment, I asked if she wanted me to catch it for her, and she agreed, so I took her pole and gently completed a perfect cast just in front of the fish.  The bass swam over and immediately took the bait, and I pulled it in.  It was a perfect setup that momentarily restored her belief in the magical powers of dad.  Here it is:

Ultimately, I had to concede ownership of the fish though, as I was advised since I used her pole, it was her fish.

But the fishing was not without its casualties.  I noticed her reel wasn’t working so well anymore, so I took it apart:

I wonder if Zebco has some military background.  I disassembled the reel in the field with just a knife.

Even so, I would say this was a successful fishing trip.

–Simon

When I see an animal, the primitive part of my brain immediately classifies it into one of two categories: threat and not a threat.  Once my survival instinct determines I am not in immediate mortal danger, the classifications become a little more diverse, being based on how to interact with the animal instead: avoid, eat, examine, or ignore.  After this second classification, the more evolved portion of my brain then begins its own analysis: interesting, gross, scary, indifferent, cute, etc..

And it is in the cute category that I classify these baby toads (encountered during the Wisconsin trip), as they are neither a threat, nor worth eating.

It looks like a standard American toad (Anaxyrus americanus).  But I think my cute classification will go unopposed.

–Simon