09.28.2017-2 Moonset over Mount Hitchcock

From this past June

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09.28.2018 Moosehorn Brook

I’ve always wanted to make an image of some part of Moosehorn Brook.  Last year I made one within Quabbin that I wasn’t thrilled with and got lost for the first time I can recall.  Fortunately I ran into a guy who knew his way around and we walked out together.

All the other shots I’ve made of Moosehorn Brook have come from the beaver pond it created from their damming it.  Pink Waterlilies and bullfrogs, mostly.  On Monday I finally noticed a cascade to shoot which surprised me as the pond was lower than I had ever seen it. But there was enough water for this one pretty cascade.

We’ve had substantial rains a couple of times this week, so maybe I’ll find more opportunities to spend time making water in motion images this weekend.

09.27.2018 Late summer orchids

Ladies’ Tresses, in this case Nodding, are fairly small and you might not take them for an orchid on first notice. A closer look makes it more evident.  Earlier this month, while I was visiting the site where I find the Greater Fringed Gentian posted  around that time, I noticed some Ladies’ Tresses just starting to bloom near the trail. When I went back this past Sunday they were well along.

Just an iPhone shot. But I had a closeup in mind and possibly something a bit more expressive.

Closeup

Beauty in place

What I didn’t capture was the delight of seeing these while listening to the gurgle of the small stream running next to the trail.

09.26.2018 Three Edibles

I don’t forage, so these had nothing to fear from me and I wasn’t going to deprive all those spores of their destinies.  But there are a few mushrooms that are unmistakable even to a layperson like me.

This is Chicken of the Woods (and a few other names) -Laetiporus-sulphureus that beaconed to me while I was hiking in Quabbin. Kind of hard to miss.  Silent though, with not a cluck to be heard.

For this and many others, especially yesterday’s post, I have to kneel or lie down for the proper angle.  After a few days of that I have to run my stuff through the washer and then hang it out on the line to dry.  While doing that on Monday, I noticed these mushrooms next to the grill of all places. I was unaware of their edibility until I researched their species and read about it. Again, they get to live out their days in my yard without fear.  🙂

Purple-gilled Laccaria-Laccaria ochropurpurea.

And lastly, for now, a favorite puffball that I found a short distance from the Pinewood Gingertails in North Quabbin.

Gem-studded Puffballs (also the possessor of a few other names)-Lycoperdon perlatum.  These have appeared here before, as have Chicken of the Woods, and quite a few years ago we had them in our small woods behind the yard. There were quite a few of these in the spot, but this was the only three-headed clump.

09.25.2018 Small Surprises

A few days ago, while looking for some small orchids in North Quabbin, I came across this rotting pine stump covered with tiny mushrooms.

It’s just an iPhone shot and didn’t get all the color as you’ll see. I went back yesterday because I felt they deserved a little more study. But I got a bonus when I settled on a composition as it held this small Cranefly ( Limonia triocellata) overnighting on the Pinewood Gingertail (Xeromphalina campanella) cluster.

If you look closely you will notice it has lovely blue eyes although the one on the right is somewhat obscured by a blurry leg.

09.24.2018 Another day, another sunrise.

Different location, different result.

Right place, right time.  🙂

09.22.2018 New Salem Dawn…Looking to the North

The east was rather blocked in, but not so the north.