It’s that rainiest of months in the Great Northwest and leaves are on the ground, the mushrooms are, too.
I like mushrooms but I don’t pick my own, though they’re everywhere in Seattle area forests and parks.
But I have gone mushroom hunting over the years with my mom, who is an expert. When we’d visit her place on Hood Canal, she’d take us deep into the forest, point out the good ones and show us how to pick them – with a sharp knife, never pulling from the ground. The biggest prizes were the Chanterelles. I’d probably still recognize those.
As far as the ones above, I can’t tell one from another. I’ll leave it to the experts.
Pictures were taken in my yard this morning while the sky was gray and rain was still falling; I’m sharing them with Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge, #Brown.
On our trip earlier this week, we visited a city park in the town of Lynden and walked under the shadow of big Cedars and Doug Firs.
Nothing unusual about that.
But I was surprised to see a couple of black squirrels playing in the trees; I thought they were rare.
Apparently not!
I saw a couple others recently at Kanasket-Palmer State Park on the Green River.
According to my extensive research – ha 🙂 – black squirrels are not a separate species, rather they’re a melanistic variation, in Washington State, most often a variation of the Eastern Gray Squirrel.
Dropping by with a few #November Shadow squares from our recent trip to Hawaii.
I took a walk on the beach in Waikiki where the only shadow was mine, save for a few distant palm trees.
I found more shadows at Ala Moana Beach Park and was thankful for the shade they provided, if only temporarily from the hot sun.
The kitties found some shade too.
Here’s a shadow that may surprise you if you’ve never been to Hawaii and this is your first glimpse of the islands. You might be shocked, even disappointed when you land in Kona.
You’re landing on a chain of volcanoes and on the Big Island there is lava, lava everywhere.
Be not dismayed. Just head to the other side to one of the wettest cities in the USA, Hilo, where you’ll find lush foliage and the Hawaii you expected (except maybe for the rain?)
Ferns are nonflowering plants that reproduce by spores; flowers are plants that reproduce through seeds.
But to me they are just as beautiful.
I see them regularly in the damp woods of the Pacific Northwest, these from our hiking near the Green River earlier this week.
Plentiful along the trails, growing everywhere, on the trees, rocks and ground.
They make a nice background for other shrubs and flowers, like the Snowberry another native in the Northwest woods. A beautiful shrub with tiny pink flowers in the spring, the white berries are striking in the fall. Though not edible to humans (they are mildly poisonous) some birds eat the berries and also use the shrub for nesting.
They look so innocent, those soft little paws on a sleeping cat.
But buried within are razor sharp claws, fast as any switchblade.
Tucked away when not needed for climbing, hunting or getting into mischief.
Capable of drawing blood, even in play, if only accidentally.
“Sorry, Sue.”
Each front paw has 5 claws, 4 from the toes and one opposable like a thumb. Hind legs have 4 claws each, giving cats 18 retractable claws. Benji gets by on 14, having a lost a back leg last year. It hasn’t slowed him down much, rodents beware.
‘Right, Benji?’
“When relaxed, strong elastic ligaments pull the claws back into protective sheaths, keeping them sharp and ready for action. This retraction happens automatically, requiring no conscious effort from the cat. When needed, cats engage specific muscles in their paws to extend their claws. This action occurs through a sophisticated system of tendons that flex the last joint of each toe, pushing the claw forward and downward. By keeping their claws protected when not in use, cats maintain their sharpness for critical moments. This feature also allows them to walk silently, making them more effective hunters.”
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 