Nature Post!

[rubyelf]

Honey is puzzled and amused with today's experiment. Today's experiment was to determine properly whether I am allergic to poison ivy (and by extension poison oak and poison sumac, all of which contain the same active ingredient). I know I've been in contact with it before, while painting houses or playing in the woods, but I've never had the rash

Comments

[ragnarok_08]

This nature post was just great :D

[resonant]

I saw violets Sunday too!

[rubyelf]

These were the first I'd found. We're on the edge of survivability for many common plants, so they all get a rather late start here.

[con_grazia]

Your brain is awesome.

[rubyelf]

LOL... thank you! I wish it didn't have the Tourette's in it, but I suppose then it might not work the same way.

[moth2fic]

The experiment will have plenty of practical use if it turns out you can explore in the woods without fear of poison ivy!

Could the peachy pink fungi be all from the same underground system or are they too widespread for that?

And was that a chipmunk??? Exciting - for us - as we only see them in captivity!

We have violets everywhere - mostly they're wanted, but they get everywhere without asking, anyway. All our trees suddenly decided it was leaf time last week. They look gorgeous with that amazing pale fresh green you only get in Spring.

Thanks for the nature walk!

[rubyelf]

Honey just doesn't think that was the smartest way to DO the experiment...

The fungi were all around the base of the same tree, although quite spread out, so they are probably all related and all associated with the tree's root system.

Nothing but a few shrubs have gotten their leaves yet, but one day they'll all just burst out... and yes, that's a chipmunk, and they are VERY common here and they are VERY noisy!

[bluegerl]

Oh YAY to eagles, violets, FUNGI, squirrels with bad table habits.. curling fairy ferns and .... those leaves you and Honey ..erm ... the one on the left looks like a hosta family? dunno about t'other, too glossy. And..yess, white flowers!

And thanks for explaining why one can find crumbly cakey sort of wood on trees.

That woodpecker must make a helluva racket if he's that big! And Joe Pye weed...oh goody goody, again the Joe Pye -- the seasons turn, turn turn, and it's so GOOD to be there to see it all happen again!

Oh HAHAHAH BWAHHHAAHHH.. MATTI!!! WATCH OUT! Pressies coming your way...oh lordy me...hahahahah that'll take his mind off gout!!!

[rubyelf]

It's always interesting when you find a tree that's so dry and crumbly, because it means the lignin destroyers have been there and eaten away everything that holds the wood together. It's unusual because usually the cellulose eaters will be there at the same time and you'll get a mess instead of that dry crumbly stuff.

Pileated woodpeckers make an ENORMOUS amount of noise. You can hear them from at LEAST half a mile away and it sounds like someone running a jackhammer. Their heads move so fast it looks like a blur, and they bang away at the tree so hard you'd think it would rattle their little bird brains. In the summer you hear them all through the woods.

Joe Pye weed is a good attractant for butterflies and bees, so it's fun to watch when those start appearing.

[bluegerl]

Just asked Google - quote "Why don't woodpeckers have headaches?" unquote. and they blooming well came up with a whole load of stuff. one of which is nice.. greater spotted woodpecker piccy - we had one and a green in our garden at TOH. and a lesser spotted, but yours??? nope!

http://www.livescience.com/32709-why-dont-woodpeckers-get-headaches.html

And I'm dying to see Matti with violets-decorated underpants with a gorgeous bulge in the front! (A Horse Mushroom??? or a giant puffball - or even two!! oh geeez... )

I don't like the idea of the poor lad using Poison ivy as shampoo for dangles. He'd not be allowed out in public - scratching away!

[rubyelf]

Well, there you go! Why woodpeckers don't get headaches! If you want to see the pileated one, you can Google it... they're beautiful birds although they do make very large holes in things!