Cattails mean Autumn!

 

And Carl the Varnished Conk just keeps on getting bigger and bigger!

This is what Carl looked like just a little over 3 weeks ago...

The fenceposts are old, the gravel road is old, but the mountain is so much older!

 

Showers and sunbreaks--- it's a bit steamy, but beautiful!

 

Feeling Fall in the trees along the path in the wetlands...

 

150 years ago, our little area was all one fairly large ranch. Cattle were generally dairy cows, but there was a little of everything. Our house along with a few others was built about 100 years ago. Some newer and larger homes popped up much later, but there is still lots of pasture land, complete with cows. This gate leads to one of the leftover pastures.

 

Mrs. Redwing grabbing a snack...

 

A perfect walk on a perfect day-- But it's a good time to go home♥

 

Go for it Carl!

The first picture is from a couple of weeks ago-- A fungus we'd never seen before. It turns out to be a very young Varnished Conc (Ganoderma Lucidum). They are a shelf fungus that will eventually be several inches across. I decided to name it "Carl the Conc" and keep watching as it grows.

The picture below is from Thursday. After just a couple of weeks, the "shelf" has become about 5 times bigger.

Go for it Carl! I'll get another picture in a couple of weeks. Oh yes-- see the tiny little mushroom in the lower right of the newer picture?

Another Autumn Portrait!

 

Go away! They're MY flowers!

 

An Autumn Portrait...

 

Spider art!

 

Moss, ferns, fallen limbs and the roots of trees all make the forest floor beautiful!

 

What a surprise! We've seen moss growing on top of one of our wooden pieces of "garden art" before, but this explosion of tiny mushrooms is something new. Even the largest is about the size of a fingertip. The feather resting on the moss in the upper left helps show the scale of these fabulous 'shrooms. ♥

 

The calm AFTER the storm.

 

That's a very big wave!!

 

Late in the day, a break in the clouds lights up the heavy surf!

 

Unsettled weather at the Oregon Coast...

 

FLy, fly, fly!

 

Here's something I've never seen before-- I raced to the internet to find out that this little fungus is a very young Varnished Conk (Ganoderma Lucidum). The cap will expand into a fan or kidney shape, shelf-like several inches across, a deep red or mahogany with a shiny, varnished look. They're hard, not soft like typical mushrooms. As much as we've walked the forests, we've never seen one before--- baby or fully grown.

 

Deep in the coastal rainforest, it's a bit foggy and cold. The stream is about 200 feet below.

I'm sorry to say that only about a three quarters of my feed list is updating, but at least those are... I hope they get this really fixed soon.

A magical little waterfall in the rainforest near the coast...

 

Walk with me...

 Blogger seems to have fixed the reading list, so I'm seeing when my friends are posting!  I hope it keeps working!

They were floating in clouds, and the fish stopped by to say hello...

 

Sometimes it seems like everything comes together perfectly...

   Blogger still not updating my list of blogs I like to visit!  Trying to remember everyone, but if I miss you, I'm sorry.

On gossimer wings...

  Blogger still not updating my list of blogs I like to visit!  Trying to remember everyone, but if I miss you, I'm sorry.

Leaves-- Beautiful leaves!

 Blogger still not updating my list of blogs I like to visit!  Trying to remember everyone, but if I miss you, I'm sorry.

It ain't over till the purple flower sings!!!

 I wonder if Blogger's problems are ever going to be fixed...

Sometimes a few raindrops create magic in the wetlands...

I see that the posts I follow have been unchanged for days now.  There are reports from many countries of similar problems.  I imagine Google will fix it eventually.

Very strange black leaves, and a stowaway underneath!

 Blogger wouldn't let me put a picture on last night when I normally do.  Also I see that the posts I follow have been unchanged for more than a day.  There are reports from many countries of similar problems.  I imagine Google will fix it eventually.

The very tall tree that loves to tickle the clouds when they pass over...

 

"Ah-ha! I see you!" said the Koi, "Did you bring food?"

 

Last light...

 

The lily pads are almost gone, but the flower is still hanging on!

 

Sometimes you can hear a woodpecker doing his thing. Sometimes you just hear the wind.

 

The waterfall is great-- but I love that tree!

 

You meet the nicest critters in the forest!

 

Forest Tapestry!

 

Do you hear something growling at us? Must be my imagination.

 

As darkness falls, they just keep on glowing!

 

The bridge to wherever you want-- just go around the corner...

 

Clouds are amazing! They can take you to different places. And sometimes they can take you to different worlds...

 

It's almost September and the water plants are beginning to fade and fall away. You can see much more of the surface water in the wetlands.

 

The junkyard cat has his eye on you —that's OK; he can be bribed with a can of tuna.

 

About 40 miles north of us, Lewis & Clark State Park has a somewhat different look with its many old-growth trees. While there are ferns and a bit of moss, it's just a bit drier.

 

Is it any wonder that we like to walk in the forest...?

 

What a beautiful bird! With a 7 1/2 foot wingspan the Osprey is only slightly smaller than the American Bald Eagle. I love seeing them.