Finding Things

...In nature....

In the shot below there is an aphid on the stem just below the bee. Not sure it you can see it unless you click on the photo and it appears larger.

Possibly a Long Horned Bee

This is a Tussock Caterpillar on a

Milkweed leaf.

They look rather fearsome.

But they are also 

referred to as a Wooly

Bear Caterpillar.

This is what we call a ground nut plant. 

Leaves of three, but not to leave it be!

American Hog Nut Plant.

It blossoms in August.

Apparently you can actually eat the seeds from the pod once they are dried out. I'm not sure I'd collect them all, but it might be interesting just to take a few this year to see how tiny they are!

Maidenhair Fern branch. This is one of my favorite ferns,
the shape of the plant is rather beautiful and distinct. 

They are starting to fade now and die off.  The photo below is from a few years ago.

Bracken Fern.

Boy that is not a fancy name for how pretty this 

fern is as it readies itself for fall. I love the colors.

Mystery fungi or

Slime Mold?

It is considered Dog

Sick Slime Mold

or Dog Vomit Slime

Mold.

Or a scientific name:

Mucilago crustacea

No name for this one. 

I just thought it was 

beautiful.

It caught my eye and I literally had to get down to get a look at it. That is a blade of grass behind it. It was still damp from the fog and morning dew.

This is perhaps a Lycoperdon perlatum.

Fun preferred names are Wolf Fart, 

Devil's Snuff Box, 

and gem studded puff ball.

I do enjoy finding the wee things in the forest and pasture and then trying to figure out what they are is a delight also.
Sort of like a Treasure Hunt.

I'll be out again tonight watching the stars. The Perseids were kind of cool and I had fun sitting out with a large mug of coffee watching the stars.

More treasures coming. I didn't want to bore anyone with Treasure overload.

Shots taken with my pocket camera and my Oly and 30mm macro lens. 

I don't have a word for this...

Here is my handy dandy itty bitty soldier who looks like he has been smoking 'grass' sitting next to some tiny white slime mold.

I kept moving the stick with the white stuff on it to try and get a better shot of it. Next time I will remember to drop a dime in my pocket to set next to the stuff I am photographing for a size reference.

I went back out to the wooded pasture to see what the Shotgun Slime Mold/Fungi had done. It did as its name promised. It 'shot' out its spores which are on the blades of grass. The spores await for the next opportunity to grow. I think this is pretty fascinating.

I went looking for the Coral Slime mold/fungi and it was gone! So I guess it did its thing and poof, disappeared. 

So I scoured the Buckthorn Forest floor and looked for cool things while checking the electric lines. [Damn deer, knocked a hot wire off the insulator!]

Cinquefoil flower with an ant on it. 

The forest delight, Columbine.

Lady Bug on an invasive species that I happen to sort of like and hate at the same time, Oxeye Daisy.

I was really surprised to find just this lone fungi. 

Had there been enough rain and humidity? 

And this was a surprise after not finding other mushrooms or fungi.

I won't even pretend to have any idea of what their names are.