Adventures

Happy Earth Day’s Fungi Party Moments

Shelley

Mother Nature’s overgreat seasonal efforts sent cooler weather to WI, no doubt to disintegrate my fleeing sunkissed memories of being in FL.

Standard Filter

The memories feel vintage to me now that back-to-reality has sunk in.

Vintage filter

In WI we can experience all 4 seasons in the month of April. So what kind of Earth Day fun are we having? Let’s see while I combine 3 prompts for your enjoyment.

The Turkey Toms are flashing their fanned tail feathers for the deer. These 3 does seem unimpressed – they’re busy eating to prepare for the birth of their fawns.

Tom (cropped out of the left side in the photo below) has 2 twin friends named Tom on the right, and together they have 6 hens to impress. These are the moments I long for a larger lens for my camera. I think the trees look mysterious without their leaves. What do you think?

A couple of Northern Flickers migrated back here to eat beetles and ants with their long beaks. I thought it was the scoundrel Downey woodpecker, but it wasn’t.

Speaking of the scoundrel woodpecker, our local Downey likes to beat its beak on our house’s cedar siding and has recently changed hole-punching venues. It’s grating its way through my beloved Catalpa Tree. 😫😭

I love it when the Catalpa is in full bloom come June. I fear it might not make it to that stage this year.

I looked across the yard this week when I spied the Downey woodpecker on the tree and noticed the bark looked not okay. Oh, great…

Mr. was summoned to investigate and deter further action by the woodpecker. He did what he could with what we had in the yard by plugging the hole. I don’t know about you, but that rock sure blends in well with the tree bark doesn’t it? 🤔😉

Imagine being a woodpecker and landing here to peck away and find this in the hole you’ve dedicated your recent life shavings to create.

Mr. and I inspected the tree again on the other side of it and WOW, WTH? Who did this, and when did this happen? A Fungi Party happened! The fungi layered where Mr. had previously (years ago, we can’t remember when) repaired the crack, filled it with roofing compound. Looks like the fungi hold together better.

I was fascinated with the creative handiwork – it is amazing. It looks like Turkey Tail Mushrooms (probably because I have turkeys on my mind). I dunno if it is or not, but wow, the layers are so cool. It does remind me a bit of Tom’s fanned out tail feathers. If it is Turkey Tail Mushrooms, it has medicinal benefits. 🤔

Or maybe it looks like groovy grill grates?

Look…there’s a tiny face in the middle of it. Shall we call him the Great Fungi Guy?

Why did the mushroom go to the party? Because he’s a fungi!

Louis Tomlinson

It’s cool from the side too.

Seeing the new fungi reminded me of the fungi I found last April and never had a ‘prompt’ perfect enough to share the images with you. SCORE, ME . . . today is our lucky day! Last April I noticed this tree and its fungi at the foot of it.

I was almost scared to get close to it. Was it toxic? Yikes, it looked like burned marshmallows that fell off the stick.

It was intriguing. I don’t think it was Hen of the Woods, but maybe in its prime, it was.

Today’s appearance indicates no chances to be edible. It looks more like a disintegrated Jabba the Hutt that crashlanded on a petrified rock somewhere?

Nature alone is antique, and the oldest art a mushroom.

Thomas Carlyle

With gloveless hands, feeling the frost on my fingertips, I walked quickly around the yard to check for other spring party signs. Yep, despite our overgreat temps in the 30s, Spring is here.

The flowering crab tree leaves are sprouting.

My beloved bleeding heart is sneaking upward through the brush I’ll clean out after the signs of frost disappear. I adore the little hanging hearts soon to appear. 💕

The rouge dandelions have bloomed to greet all the bees ready to crawl out of the ground/brush and get busy being bees!

Dangling thoughts of weeding weeds grated on my mind amongst the bazillion fair-weather to-do-tasks ahead. Nope, I let those thoughts go!

Today’s Earth Day fungi party is a great kick-off to celebrate the arrival of Spring.

Post Inspiration: Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: ends with “grate/great.” Use one or bonus points if you use them both. Enjoy! Terri Webster Schrandts’ Sunday Stills Apr 21 Earth Day; and Ritva for Lens-Artists #296 – Abstracts.

PS – Do you like the standard or the vintage filter of the photo of the doves? What do you think, is that Turkey Tail Mushrooms growing in our tree? Do you think the rock will work to deter the woodpecker? What is your favorite spring flower? Are you a fungi fan, if so, what is your favorite local fungi you search out to admire where you live?

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

50 thoughts on “Happy Earth Day’s Fungi Party Moments”

  1. Yay, your post appeared in my blog’s dashboard notifications, Shelley! You have really celebrated Earth Day here and also managed some cool abstracts for L-A challenge to boot. Your fungi jokes are hilarious, but the fungi themselves are quite interesting! Darn those Northern Flickers (we have them too–at least our neighbor’s property does)–our trees are still way too small to entertain woodpeckers. And yes, I see the little face in the one shot, LOL! The good thing about April (and there are a lot), is that it’s almost over and those of us who live in northern latitudes can plant stuff! Happy Earth Day/Week!

    1. Yay – the silly thing about the post appearing where it should is I haven’t done anything different from other times and I haven’t fixed anything on my blog. 🤔🤨😉 I’m glad it worked this time though!

      Thank you for enjoying my post. Normally the Flickers are just busy finding ants, but we haven’t had much rain to push them up to the top of the yard for discovery. I’m glad you saw the face too. 😊 Yay for planting season. You’re right, it’s a good time of year to celebrate. Happy Earth Day/Week to you too!

      1. I actually was able to control how I can see your posts. Through the Reader (from your dashboard), this is where you can manage subscriptions. When I find yours I can select “Notify me of new posts” in the settings. instead of “Email me new posts.” For some bloggers who I assume may be self-hosted, this is how I can be notified (and read) new posts. Yay for that,! We’re taking a drive today to see a cool waterfall in The Palouse area–if I get good pics I will share this Wednesday! Have a great week.

        1. (Reply attempt #2) Thank you for letting me know how you are able to see my posts now. I’m going to investigate that more.
          I hope your week and your adventure to the Palouse area give you many opportunities to capture great shots!

          1. Our trip to Palouse Falls was amazing, Shelley. You’ll see tomorrow 🙂 Thanks for making the second attempt to comment. By the way, sometimes themes we use for our blog layouts are twitchy and need replacing.

          2. Yay – I’m happy to hear the trip was amazing. I look forward to seeing your photos!!

            My blog commenting issues took a turn for the better when I discovered that magically my WP.com functionality is working on my WP.org. 🙄 It’s probably a fluke, that I’ll just go with for now. 😆

  2. This is a great Earth Day post, Shelley! I love the photos. I can’t help with the identification of fungi or fowl, but I liked all of them. I doubt that woodpecker is going to be deterred. He might have to start a new hole, but he wants what’s in that tree.

    1. Thank you, Dan, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. I fear that you’re right about the woodpecker and the desire for the tree. Mr. hung a couple of CDs in the tree and the wind took one and left one right next to the hole, so hopefully the one will do the trick to scare off the one persistent woodpecker.

  3. I like both versions of the Mourning Dove photo. The fungi looks really cool where it was repaired, I hope the tree survives the bird’s damage. I wonder if there is a liquid that can be applied to the trunk and the hole to repel the bird? Have a great new week, guys. 😊

    1. Hi John, thank you for your feedback about the photos and the fungi. I wonder if there is a patch available too. We have a not so friendly to trees that love water kind of yard. We planted that Catalpa the same time we planted one at one of our rentals decades ago. The one at the rental is double/triple the size of this one which looks like a baby one still. It may not make it, but we’ll do our best to help it survive.

      We hope you have a great week too! 😊

  4. When it comes to photo filters I have no preference. Every photo is different and if a filter helps you create a more meaningful photo then so be it. I’m not much fungi so again no real opinion about it. As for a rock stopping a woodpecker, fingers crossed.

    1. Hi Ally, I like your take on photos, you’re right, whatever makes it more meaningful matters. Thank you for your feedback and your encouragement for the stopping of the woodpecker. Happy Spring to you – I saw your Instagram post with the flowering tree in it, ah…so beautiful. I bet it’s fragrant too. 😍

    1. Hi Neil, yeah…that’s what I’m thinking too. That poor tree has been through a lot of storms and rough weather and has stunted growth. Maybe the fungi is trying to monopolize on the last bit of life it has. 🤔😉

    2. If this tree is condemned to disappear due to its fungal contamination, why not let the woodpecker dig its “lodge” there or let it feed on the insects which have unfortunately already taken possession of the trunk?
      Sorry for your dear Catalpa!

      1. That is an excellent question. Thank you for bringing it to light. We researched and found that Catalpas are quite resilient and will grow around any holes, so now it has become an experiment to see if it does survive. Since we live next to a wooded area where there are a LOT of trees available for the woodpeckers to eat/live in I’m guessing the woodpecker has since found a new spot.

    1. Hi Cathy, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. The fungi on one of our trees in the yard is new for us too. Thank you for the well wishes for the tree.

  8. That fungi is fantastic! An invitation to play! I think looked like a turkey tail too, but I loved that you got close so we could see the detail and create abstracts. And the rock was a great add to the tree. Keep hanging in there, Spring is coming. I would kind of like it to hold off a bit, but what’s fair is fair. It will be our turn to head inside for a few months. Happy Earth Day is right.

    1. Hi Donna, I’m smiling that you enjoyed the fun factor in my fungi post. It’s as if the tree has given me a place to discover and experiment like a kid again. If it hadn’t been so darn cold out I might’ve found other photos to take of it. 🥶 So far the rock is still there along with a CD hanging next to it that supposedly scares off birds. We’ll see!

      Aw…that’s how it goes, we long for warmer weather while you’re enjoying it in AZ and then when we get the warmth you head inside to stay cool!

      Happy Earth Day to you too!

  9. Shelley, what a great way to show abstracts by choosing nature. I loved these photos. The mushroom close-ups are amazing!

  10. An enjoyable wander through Shelley world 😀
    I like both Dove photos
    No idea about the fungi
    No idea about Woodpeckers either
    No particular Spring flower but Cornflower, Pansies. Violas, Marigolds, Alyssum, Lobelia, Zinnia, Gazania are in there as well as all the bulbs
    Fungi fan 👍
    No searching for fungi, they are everywhere on my place.

    1. Hi Brian, thank you for your feedback and for wandering around the yard with me. You have quite the selection of spring flowers to enjoy. The list makes me anxious for the safe time to plant flowers here. I can see you being a fan of Fungi too. With all the rain you get you live in a happy Fungi place indeed. 😁😊

  11. Very Springy with the dandelions Shelley – I have them too!

    I liked how Mister fixed the woodpecker hole … that stopped that woodpecker in its tracks. I have a photo in my post today of a long-dead tree and how the Red-bellied Woodpecker has decimated it. I think Mister’s handiwork will hold.

    Now the tulips are out here – I saw that today while walking in the ‘hood and I suspect today’s wind, tomorrow’s even gustier wind in the afternoon and an all-day rain and thunderstorms Tuesday will have those tulips dropping their petals.

    We don’t have much fungi around here, but a little shelf fungi on a tree near the Park. I get some whopper white mushrooms in the Summer when it is humid. They will be like a button and next time I go outside, they are the width of a cup.

    The vintage filter is nice – is this done through WP?

    1. Hi Linda! Thank you for the encouragement for Mr. and his ‘fix’ for the woodpecker. So far, the rock is still there.

      Tulips are like that, I love them, but they don’t last long. The irises are a bit more resilient, but they fade fast here too.

      You’ve seen some fun fungi on your walking adventures. Those big white puffballs happen here too. They’re quite fascinating to watch them go through their stages.

      I’m glad you enjoyed the vintage filter, it is part of the Microsoft free photo editor.

      1. Glad to help Shelley – it works well and a rock will last longer than chewing gum (another option). 🙂

        My father had purple Irises for years and when I took over the garden, I ended up pulling them out as they would flop over and lay on the ground, even with support sticks. Then I’d have to wrestle to pull them up and worry if anything was dead beneath them. (I have a vivid imagination, I know).

        Oh they are puffballs? That is good to know, as is the free photo editor for Microsoft!

        1. It would take a LOT of gum to fill the hole. So far, the rock and a hanging CD has been keeping the woodpecker away. We do have a bizarre acting Flicker that has become infatuated with our chimney chase since the rock was installed in the tree. We’re perplexed by its behavior.
          Irises seem to be quite durable for our yard. They do fall over though and don’t looks so great after they bloom and shrivel. The daisies help spruce the flower beds later in the summer.
          Yes, puffballs. I hope the free photo editor works for you!

          1. I remember hanging up a CD to deter squirrels one time. Several years ago we had a Flicker at the Park. I didn’t know what bird made that song, which to me sounded like a jungle noise from cartoons back in the day. So I mentioned it to a fellow blogger and she found a link to a YouTube video and sent it to me – yes, that was it. They go on and on with the noise, so I hope you’re not listening to that while watching the for Flicker-induced damage!

            I forgot about trying the free photo editor and I was sorting pics this morning that I took yesterday. I have to try next time … I can use improvements. 🙂

          2. I’ve seen trees around with CDs in them and I had no clue it was for deterring birds. Now I know. The winds we get in our yard do not do well to help keep the CDs in the tree. So far, the woodpecker hasn’t returned since there is one CD and a rock in its way. The Flicker…man, this is the first year we’ve had one with an attitude. 🤔🙄😏

            You’ll remember one of these days to try the photo editor. It’s easy. I miss the old one better, but when it’s free and I know what to do with it, it’ll suffice for now.

          3. I had seen them too and at one time thought they were Christmas decorations. 🙂 The woodpeckers are destructive. I did try to find it after you mentioned it in the other comment, figuring I didn’t have it on Windows 7, but I did. I have never tried Paint either. Lots of things to explore once I am done with the house, etc.

          4. If there weren’t any other trees available like we have, the woodpecker may have won the tree from me. 😉
            Yes, your list of things to explore is growing day by day. 😍

          5. I have heard them in the neighborhood when it is quiet in the morning when I’m walking – the noise reverberates through the entire neighborhood!

  12. I’ll be honest: I really know very little about fungi, either mushrooms or the stuff that grows on or in trees. We get puffball mushrooms that sprout in one otherwise uncultivated patch of land, but we just let them be.

    1. Hi John, while I see more shrooms than you do where we live, I’ve taken far too little time to learn about them than I could. We have those puffballs too. They’re fun to see and smash when they’re ready to burst. At least that’s what I did as a kid – kick the puffball entertained us often. They always make more no matter if they are left alone or if someone helps them spread their love. 😂

    1. Hi Willow! It’s weird that you mention the rain factor – that is true, it should foster growth of fungi. We have had very little rain this past year and so far this spring so maybe the fungi was looking for any moisture it could find and the tree has some 🤷🏻‍♀️

  14. Nature gives us so much inspiration, and the best place to find also the abstract wonders, the closer you look the more abstract it gets. Nature is such a wonder, thanks for joining the challenge

    1. Well said, Ritva, I agree. Thank you for your inspiration, encouragement and for hosting the challenge this week, it was fun to play along.

    1. Thank you, Kirstin! I’m still in awe of the photos you shared for Earth Day. Your post is fascinating and the photos breathtaking. I’d have fun walking along with you and pausing to just admire the surroundings!

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