Hamilton Wetlands and Forest

 "The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,"   Lines stolen from Robert Frost, even though it was not a snowy evening, and there was no horse.  The woods, however, were indeed lovely, and it was indeed a dark morning, as dark as any I can recall.  I've written often about sunlight in the forest, but the Forest's darkness has its own beauty.  It was still, as well.  One can usually hear the traffic of the nearby highway, and apparently there are a couple of helicopter instruction sites nearby who add their clamour.  Notwithstanding that, once in the woods, it somehow feels peaceful and quiet.  The mechanical noise is  distanced and not a part of the Forest.   The unusually warm season has led to a continued growth of fungi. The mysterious poached egg fungus has subsided to a single tough nubbin. Meanwhile an assortment of white, fan-like fungi are appearing. Some of these look as though they could meld with some of the orange fungi ...

 Two days after the Winter Solstice.  A fine morning to visit the Wetlands and Forest and watch changes in midwinter sunlight.   I set out on a clear morning, with the special quality of light that only a winter morning can bring. I think it's due to the low angle of the sun, illumining foliage and moss. The heavy rains of the past week have suppressed the fungus growth, although a few remain present.   This growth is puzzling.  I hope someone can explain it to me.  I think there are three different species present: a variety of polypore, a small, glossy something, and an orange fungus. I'm wondering if the polypore and the orange whatever are somehow related to the "poached egg fungus" we spotted the past weeks. The "poached egg fungus" has now subsided to a leathery growth on the log, still with an orange "yolk. "  Suggestions re identification will be gratefully received and incorporated into this blog. The light changed as I approached th...

  A sunny morning with early frost.  By the time we reached the Forest and Wetlands, the frost had cleared.   Moss glowed in the sunlight. On the forest floor, ferns and moss gleamed. The fungus population remains abundant, although it is beginning to diminish. LBMs continue to appear. The odd, and still unidentified "poached egg fungus" is shrinking, leaving the stem evident that attaches it to a fur log.  Although it could be taken for a bit of debris discarded by a walker, the now apparent stem reduces that likelihood. Tiny orange fruiting bodies of a slime mold share the log with the mystery fungus.   The weather allowed a clear view of Mount Arrowsmith with its growing snow pack. The Marsh had a mist rising from its south side.  It was comfortably warm, sitting on the dock and admiring the view.  There still are few waterfowl--we heard mallards, and saw them in the distance, but that was the extent of the population. The shrubs and trees...