Gray Sky Day February 2, 2012
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in winter.3 comments
I badly needed a walk about… and I ended up spending an hour and a half out on the trails at Audubon before heading to my office.
You know I love winter, and this mild one has been disappointing to me. The temperature was in the high 40s and the ground was mushy. Still, there was a bit of ice on the pond… and you could see where the muskrats broke through it to get a breath of air.
As is often the case, the gray, wet day made for vibrant, saturated color.
Even the rootlets of the poison ivy drew my eye with their rich color.
And why is it that only the roses are dripping with water?
The weather forecast is for several more days of high 40s. I wonder if we’ll ever get a good, lasting snow this year…
The Day After the Storm January 15, 2012
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in winter.4 comments
My sister always loved the day after the storm when the clouds rolled out and the skies were blue and the snow was sparkly. Today was that day. So these pictures are for you, Yvonne!
Sensitive Fern
After the Storm “Blues”
American Beech
It’s Just Me, Jennifer!
Finally! January 14, 2012
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in winter.3 comments
Winter. Finally.
Winter has arrived. Finally. And I have taken full advantage of it. Shoveled my driveway this morning, then drove 35mph on Route 86 to Bemus Point where I took a walk through the snowy woods.
Upon return, there was wood to bring in and the car to un-bury. Next it was on to mom’s to shovel her out (although she had been plowed out in the morning, you couldn’t tell).
Then it was home to process the photos. Beautiful, beautiful day – and it’s still coming down! Hope to enjoy more fun in the snow tomorrow. And the next day. And the next… Until March!
WinterWoman is happy.
Mourning Dove Dance Lessons November 11, 2011
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in birds, winter.1 comment so far
I was amused watching the Mourning Doves walk along the paved sidewalk leaving their footprints in the snow.
We also watched flock after flock of Tundra Swans leave and land.
Winter Walk December 31, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in winter.4 comments
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We See With Our Emotions December 20, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in hiking, photography, winter.12 comments
Twenty degrees. The heavy snow has stopped, for now. An occasional flake floats down now and again. Thick gray clouds block the sun. Perfect day for a hike, not so perfect for photography. I snap photo after photo anyway.
Back on my computer, the screen shows me what the camera captured: gray, monochromatic, dull. I suppose that IS what it looked like.
I am not satisfied. It is not a good representation of my memory of the day. I load the picture into Lightroom and play with the settings until the image matches my memory.
I mess with the other photos similarly.
Ta da!
But photographs can never really capture the beauty of our memories! ~Emily Schlick
Cross Country Skiing at Audubon December 12, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in tracks and signs, winter.4 comments
The trails at the Audubon Center & Sanctuary are truly multipurpose trails. No, that doesn’t mean that snowmobiles, ATVs, bicycles, and horses are allowed. Hikers, cross-country skiers, snowshoers, and a myriad of animals ARE allowed. I had the pleasure of skiing on Saturday (after Heather had blazed and refined the trail several days during the week – Thank you, Heather!). Here are some of the animal tracks I saw. I’ve indentified them with my best guesses. If you know better, please correct me!
The first tracks I stopped to photograph were on the big field:
I’m pretty sure these were squirrel tracks. Funny how he went under the snow for a bit, then emerged to continue hopping over the surface!
Looks like the feral cat who’s been hanging around the Center lately.
I’m pretty sure I saw mink footprints in at least three places along the trail: (1) out on the big field, (2) just on the other side of the Big Pond embankment, and (3) on the “Forever Bridge” and around the bank toward the photo blind on Spatterdock Pond. Here are some examples of what I saw:
(1) Big Field:
(2) On far side of Big Pond Embankment:
Seems like it was coming from the right, then sliding into the trail itself:
Then on the other side of the trail, it seems to have investigated the area under the tree before bounding off toward the pond:
Here are some classic mouse prints with the tail drag between them:
I’m just not exactly sure what these are, but I suspect they were made by vole:
Lest you think all footprints are made by mammals, I also saw these Great Blue Heron prints:
What do you think? Did I get the IDs right?
Wanna Go Out for a Cup of Coffee? March 3, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in hiking, winter.5 comments
“Wanna go out for a cup of coffee?”
“K.”
So I perk a pot and pour it into the thermos. You scrounge around in the cupboards and refrigerator but all you can find is a hunk of venison summer sausage. We throw the coffee, the sausage, a bottle of water, and some extra socks and mittens (just in case) into day packs. And dog biscuits, of course. We pull on our snow pants and boots and slip into our jackets. Hats. Mittens. Let’s go!
While trying to shuffle the vehicles, I get the car stuck in the driveway. Twice. Finally, dogs behind the seat and whining with excitement over the anticipated adventure, you throw the truck into gear and we are on our way to Allegany State Park. 
Oh wait… we need gas. We buy a couple of granola bars, too, to supplement the sausage.
On the way to the park, we discuss possible hiking trails… A loop would be nice, but most are so steep and Mo just can’t do steep anymore. We decide to hike out and back on a section of the North Country Trail that starts with a brief steep part, but then levels off.
Alas, we find the snow much deeper than we anticipated and the old dog struggles mightily. Luckily, at the top of the steep part, we hit the snowmobile trail: wide and well-packed, and – at least for now – completely uninhabited by machines.
It’s such a pretty day. The fast-moving, variable-thickness clouds paint the wintery scene with ever-changing lighting schemes.
As we walk the easy, level trail, our eyes scan the edges for the perfect log. We opt to drink at the Hemlock Grove Cafe:
After coffee, as long as we’re here, we follow the snowmobile trail to the intersection of Black Snake Mountain trailhead. Someone has skiied here and packed the snow, so we give it a try. Wait, what’s that? I’ve walked this trail a couple of times before and never noticed that…
We continue on, crossing the creek, watching Lolli sniff the weasel tracks… until the level trail hits the steep, and then we turn back. What a pretty trail… Note to self: must come back in May for the wildflowers.
A little more distance on the snowmobile trail, and then we turn back. It seems snowmobilers rise later than we. We dodged none on the first part of our hike, but several on the return.
We parked on the south side of ASP 3 where the Finger Lakes / North Country Trail crosses. We headed south on the FLT/NCT – a short, steep uphill climb to the snowmobile trail where we turned left (east). At the Black Snake Mountain trail, we took a detour up the creek a ways, then back down. We hiked east a little more – probably almost to Science Lake, though we didn’t realize at the time how close we were.
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Delightful Walk February 21, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in hiking, winter.2 comments
We’re on the verge… on the verge of spring.
Today’s walk started at 9am with temps in the 20s, and sunny, clear-blue skies. By the time we got back to the car it was 11 and the temps must have climbed to the 30s, because the snow felt a little melty and the jacket was off.
Along the way there were hints, too… some you could see, and some you could hear. For example, the sumac is pretty picked over.
Some of the clusters have no fuzzy red berries left at all…
And some of the culprits who have been munching those berries all winter have traded in their chick-a-dee-dee-dee for their high-low, fee-bee territory-mating song. Cardinals, too, were practicing spring time songs, as were Red-bellied Woodpeckers.
The sun beat down on a protected bank next to a creek providing a perfect spot for coffee and cookies. The dogs played along the bank, munching on sticks, stones, and chunks of ice that they broke away from the edge.
With weather like this – warm days, cold nights… it won’t be long before it’s time to tap the trees!
It was a truly delightful walk.
Orange! February 12, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in fungi, winter.5 comments
Lolli attempts conversation with Beaver while Mozart surveys the frozen pond.
I wasn’t out “naturalizing”. I was just out for a walk. I needed the exercise… so did the dogs. I needed to fill my lungs with fresh air. I wasn’t looking to learn anything new or to see anything all that different…
Then orange caught my eye, squeezing out from the bark of an Eastern Hemlock tree on the side of the beaver pond.
I photographed it (with both cameras)… assumed I knew what it was – Witch’s Butter – duh… and moved on.
Then I sat down to write a post about Witch’s Butter. I dug out books and surfed the ‘net… and got confused.
1
First of all, the common name “witch’s butter” can be applied to more than one species of fungus. So, I was right! But the question is… what species do I have here? I dug through other pictures of orange goo I have taken over the years. I had assigned Latin names to many of these at the time I took the pictures… but now, reviewing the resources, I’m no longer sure…
2
3
4
I’m no mycologist and to be honest, I’m not all that dedicated to identifying these to the species level… But as I read about the different jelly fungi, I became fascinated at the inter-relationships with other living and dead things. Some fungi feast on dead organic material, some on living (non-fungal) tissues, and still others parasitize other fungi.
I’ll give you some of the clues here, and maybe we can try to puzzle out which species is which from my photographs together!
Tremella mesenterica is found on decaying hardwood. 
According to Michael Kuo at MushroomExpert.com, T. mesenterica is parasitic on the mycelium of another fungus in the genus Peniophora which might be hiding under the bark even when you see no fruiting bodies. Peniophora are resupinate crust fungi. (I just learned that word, too – resupinate means “seemingly turned upside down”.) I don’t know what species T. mesenterica likes to parasitize… but I happened to have a picture of P. rufa, so I’m including it here. Hmm… #3 above was on a dead hardwood… Maybe that one is T. mesenterica? I didn’t see any Peniophora on that trunk, but I suppose it could be there hiding beneath the bark…
Tremella aurentia is “gregarious on downed hardwood” and parasitic on Stereum hirsutum (false turkey tail) and is described as “yellow-orange, shiny when wet, otherwise dull.” Hmm… in picture #1 above, the description is right. Those grayish/green mini-shelves could be old S. hirsutum as the normally orange stripes are reported to fade over time – and while it usually grows on hardwoods, is occasionally found on conifers. The tree was definitely still standing, however… and I THOUGHT it was still alive… Hmm… I’d still go with T. aurentia for picture #1 based on my sloppy naturalizing. (UPDATE 2/13/2010: I went back yesterday in an attempt to correct at least a bit of my sloppy naturalizing… the trees with orange goo were indeed hemlock, but they were also indeed quite dead… still standing, but dead.)
Here’s an awesome photo posted on Flickr by John Davis, which I think fits the bill for T. aurentia:
Dacrymyces palmatus is the only one of the three that is reported to live on conifers. I think my #2 and #4 above are probably this species… both were found on downed Eastern Hemlock. The intensely different shapes/textures confuse me… but then, these fungi are shape-shifters as they age, and depending on the weather conditions.
Mycologists are amazing. With over 70,000 species identified and named, they believe there could be in excess of a million more to be discovered. I suppose if I really really really cared, I’d be out there collecting spore prints, testing the fruits with various chemicals, examining bits of tissue and spores under the microscope…
But really, I was just out for a walk…
Get confused:
- Tremella mesenterica – Mushroom Expert
- Tremella aurentia – California Fungi
- Dacrymyces palmatus – California Fungi
- Stereum hirsutum – California Fungi;
Stereum hirsutum – Mushroom Expert - Tree of Life Web Project – more information than you thought was possible about fungi
