29 November, 6 December
Two dark mornings in the Forest and Wetlands. We're definitely approaching the Solstice, and looking forward to lengthening days. The small streams and ephemeral ponds have been recharged by recent rainfall. As we approached on the morning of the 6th, we came on two young men with VERY sophisticated camera equipment. They explained that they were investigating the springtail population, and showed us their miniscule quarries. They have some really interesting material on iNaturalist, with amazingly clear photos of very tiny critters. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&user_id=doviende&verifiable=any Fungi, possibly late in their emergence, are showing along the path. The variously named "spirit gummy bear" or "cat's tongue fungus" is abundant on logs along the path. A mystery organism (possibly a symbiosis?) emerges from a downed snag along the path. Snags and downed logs are nurturing little saprophytes. Yester...