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Thursday, September 10, 2009

Details, Details

 
inky cap fungus

I love close-up details! It was hard to pick just a few to share today from the August hikes. Hope you enjoy the ones I selected! Above is what I believe to be an inky cap mushroom. They go through several stages of appearance, most of them not nearly as attractive as this. They start out white and columnar, and then the cap starts to self-digest and ends up dripping in a tarry black mess off the edges till it disappears.

On one of our days off we went on a guided tour of Finnish heritage near Embarrass, Minnesota. The township is working hard to preserve the most unique of the remaining log buildings built by the Finns who settled the area. These tight dovetailed cabin corners are typical Finnish handwork. And I do mean handwork... all the cutting was done by hand. The picture below that just captured my fancy. It was not particularly typical for the Finnish barns to have these vents, but I liked how it looked!

Finnish cabin corner

Finnish barn cupola

I just like the colors and shapes in this one!

red maple leaf on rock

Finally, here is the root of a cedar tree hanging on to the cliffs along the Split Rock River.

white cedar root

I just can't leave Minnesota quite yet. I got pix of a mammal that was new to me. That was quite a surprise. Come back tomorrow to see it!



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10 comments:

Julia said...

I like the tree roots clinging to the rocks. Thats a great example of the 2onderful survival abilities of one my favorite things: trees.

•°°• IcyBC •°°• said...

I like the selection of photos you've shown here..The mushroom blows me away with its amazing details, and all are so interesting to see.

Rick (Ratty) said...

These are all very good. I like the colors of the mushroom. The texture of the wood on the cabin is great. I like that red leaf too. I took a picture of one of almost the same color a few days ago, no rock though. And I almost expect to see a wizard appear next to that tree. I love interesting trees.

Lin said...

Oh, Sharky, these are GREAT! Such an eye you have there for an interesting photo. Nice.

betchai said...

oh wow, the mushroom really hooked me, I can't leave my eyes off it, very interesting. the rest are as interesting too, all beautiful.

Sharkbytes said...

Julia- I really like that one too. That tree was just awesome, and the light was right!

Hi Icy- Yes, that mushroom was really a standout. They self-digest so fast that is was just luck I happened on one at this lovely stage.

Hi Ratty- glad you like 'em. It's a lot of fun for me. Gotta start taking this camera off automatic soon though.

Lin- Wow! Thank you so much! It's really nice to have friends to share them with. That makes it all so much more fun.

Sharkbytes said...

Hi betchai- Nice to see you! The mushroom is almost like lace, isn't it? Hard to believe that something so pretty will be very ugly in just a few hours.

wiseacre said...

I love the Cedar pic.

Thanks for stopping by and giving me a suggestion to that caterpillar's ID. Another visitor was a bit closer but with both your help I was able to get an ID

Tes said...

That mushroom has character! But I love the roots...captivating!

Sharkbytes said...

Hi Wiseacre- Glad to help a bit!

Tes- Yes, I think the roots are my favorite. The shapes and the shadows are just yummy.