Another Choice Mushroom

Yesterday we were driving down a gravel road when I saw this oak tree along the side of the road covered with orange mushrooms.  We pulled over and took way too many pictures of it.   When I got home I looked it up in my Mushroom Field Guide.  They’re called Chicken Mushrooms or Chicken of the Woods and are choice edible mushrooms.   The book says they taste just like chicken.  Okay, I’ve heard that line before, but we’re actually thinking about trying these.  They sound totally safe and there’s nothing in the world Jim likes better than chicken!  

 

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The other night Mike stopped over to see the blob but he wasn’t able to tell us what it was.   He’s seen this before and knows it’s some sort of egg sac, but that’s about it.  It’s all washed away now.   Thank you Toodie for identifying the big ol’ caterpillar.  Don’t know why it was here.  It’s not like we have a tomato crop out front or anything.

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Yesterday one of the other beaver dams up stream from ours must have sprung a leak.  Jim was outside and could hear  the sound of fast running water.  He went down by the dam and the water was just pouring over it and over the little bridge we have to cross the creek.  He came back to get me and the camera and by the time we got down there the water had gone down some, but it was still way higher than most of the time.  Usually it’s just a trickle under the bridge.Good thing the beavers out in our pond are such hard workers.   They were out in the early evening doing their repairs on the hole the water cut into the old dam.It’s really a strange sensation to be standing on the other side of the dam and being just about eye level with the water.  Sure hope it holds.

More Mysteries

The mystery blob is still floating near the edge of the beaver dam.  It’s way bigger than a basketball.  We still have no idea what it is, so I’m going to send a picture of it to my friend, whose husband Mike, may know. 

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The other day when we were getting ready to go to town, this thing had climbed through the open window and was just laying there near the shifter.  No idea what kind of caterpillar it is or where it came from.  It was big, green and had strong suction cup feet.

And then there’s this thing.  I don’t know what the heck it is.  When it flies it looks like the outline of a star.  When it’s on a leaf or grass, it looks part dragonfly.   I’ve looked in my butterfly book and in my insect field guide and couldn’t find anything that looks like this.   Maybe I should send this picture to Mike too.

 

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Want to see a tall flower?  This thing has got to be 8 feet tall.

A Bunch of Stuff

We made a quick trip home and I do mean quick.  Arrived home around 4:00 and we both started on our chores.  He mowed and I started laundry.  I finished it in the morning,  did some grocery shopping and by 1:30 yesterday, we were back on the road heading north.  Had a nice trip until we were about 25 miles away and ran into the big storm that moved across the whole state.  We even pulled over for a few minutes because it was raining so hard. 

Anyway, we got here safe and sound.   We were sorry to see “The Old Tree” got snapped by the wind.  This is the tree that refused to die.  I took some pictures of it this spring, just in case it would be the year it stopped putting on leaves.  Well, it leafed out just like all the other years, but yesterday the wind caused it to finally  succumb to old age.  This tree was chewed on by beavers and who knows how many different woodpeckers pecked holes in it for food and used it for raising their little ones.   It’s really amazing how trees can survive so much abuse.

The sapsucker nesting tree was another one that snapped yesterday.  Thank goodness it didn’t land on the outhouse.  It was close, but just missed it.

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Today Jim noticed this mysterious blob floating right next to the damn.  We both remember seeing something like this some years ago, but never found out what it was.  He threw a glove on it to give a reference to the size of it.  Weird stuff, huh?  Got have any idea what it is? 

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And finally…drum roll please….It’s time for me to show off my 15 Minutes of Fame.  (Apologies to those that already saw this on my Facebook wall).  Last year I was involved in making some things for a book called Fa La La La Felt.  Yesterday right before we left, the UPS man stopped by and delivered my copy…with my stuff in it!  I’m still giddy about this.  

One pincushion is shown on the second page. 

Two of them are on the back cover.

Three are on the inside with instructions on the next page.

And 2 Christmas Stockings,

with instructions too.

There are some other really cute things in this book.  If I hadn’t received a complimentary copy, I’m pretty sure I would have bought it myself.

It sure has gotten quite around here

Seems like it happened overnight.  The pretty song birds have stopped singing, the woodpeckers aren’t tapping on deadwood, no frogs croaking and we haven’t seen a bear, squirrel or beaver in weeks.  Every once in awhile we hear a Blue Jay scolding or the whip-poor-will, whip-poor-willing and the little hummingbirds are always right outside the windows doing their chirpy thing, but the rest of them have gone silent or disappeared. 

With the trail cams, we still see what’s lurking out there.  I’m not a big fan of raccoons, but this is one of the cutest pictures we’ve gotten of one of them.

Last night the big ol’ buck stopped by with the little buck we’re calling Junior.  Oh my gosh, he looks so tiny next to the big guy.  He must  think “when I grow up I want to look just like him”.  The buck really is a beauty.  Here he is with one of the many bunnies that hang around here.  This buck will make some hunter very happy this fall.  But maybe he’ll survive another year.  We couldn’t believe he survived last winter.

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Tomorrow we’re going home for a couple days .  I have a gallon of sugar water ready to  fill the hummingbird feeders and hope it will last them for 2-3 days.  Jim refills the big one everyday.   He’ll put out sunflower seeds for the birds and probably throw down a handful or two of corn for the little doe that comes by way too often.   It will be a quick trip home.  Pick up the mail, do laundry, mow the grass and then back on the road again.  We sure can’t complain about the kind of weather we’ve had up here lately.  So nice compare to the heat, humidity and storms so many of you are enduring.   You won’t hear one word of complaining out of me.

The Hummers Have Hatched!

We’ve never been able to find the nests, but we always know when the little hummingbird babies have left them.  It happened yesterday.  All of a sudden they were swarming the feeder like big bugs and making all kinds of hummingbird noises.  Squeaky little chirps and the humming sound of their wings.   Look at this with two beaks in the same drinking hole.  

These pictures are from early this morning.  (Not the clearest, because of all the layers of glass.)  Right now, it’s around 8 hours later and the feeder is below half full.  I’ll be making sugar water for them until they leave in early to mid September.  I’ve got to remember to add sugar to my shopping list.  Lots of sugar!  

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What a Wildlife Moment!

We were driving long on a gravel road, came around the corner and down at the bottom of the hill we could see a doe and fawn.  So we stopped right there at the top of the hill to watch them.  Of course I’m taking pictures, through the somewhat clean windshield glass.
We expected them to stand around a few seconds and then take off running.  Well that’s what they did, but they started running right towards us, with the little one leading the way.
The little one finally stops right in front of the truck and starts stomping her foot at us, just like a big deer.

We quietly sat, watching for their next move.  Mom must have given some kind of signal and they both turned and ran back down the road and disappeared into the brush along the side  Really cool.  

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Now if you would back up a few hours.  This is what we saw when we got up this morning. 

When you look out and see both feeders tipped and the birdbath knocked over, we know who stopped to visit last night.  Yup, here’s the culprit.
At least this one didn’t try to sit or climb on the birdbath like the other one did and ended up breaking it.  FYI…Super Glue Gel works really well in repairing plastic bird baths.