Strange yellow fungi

Hubby and I were out walking. Right in the middle of being pouty and complaining, I spotted these strange yellow fungi

growing out of the side of a mossy little bluff on the old logging road.


Close-up of the lower one. If it were any larger I think I'd be worried about zombies hatching out and trying to eat my brains.


Close-up of the other one.*


I found another group further down the road. This one's stem was covered in leaves.


I removed them so I could see it in all its, um, glory.

I almost feel the need to say that these photos may not be suitable for young children!

I believe these are either Ravenel's Stalked Puffball (Calostoma ravenelii) or Yellow Stalked Puffball (Calostoma lutescens). I found a couple of keys but neither seems to match exactly.


* Interesting tiny fern (or bryophyte?) on the lower right too. I didn't notice it until I looked at the photos. I couldn't identify it with a quick web search - maybe someone else will know.

Yuccas & Sandia Mountains

This nice view of two different yuccas some gray sage and the Sandia Mountains with a little of Rio Rancho inbetween was also taken on Southern Blvd. in Rio Rancho.

Obligatory Redwood Shot!

Obligatory Redwood Shot!, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Neck-craning opportunities abound in Redwood Regional Park!

Pink Flower

Can't remember what this pink flower is called. It is the only one that came up from two bags of bulbs that I got from The Dollar Tree Store this spring.

Good Skiing and Narada Falls Face Snow Pit

Howdy Everyone!



Afterseveral daysof cooler weather and some precipitation, the mountain has come back out in full sunshine with a good 6" of powder on her flanks. There is some great skiing on the south and west aspects right now; while the eastern aspects are getting crusty.



This weeks snow pit was dug at the top of Narada Falls Face, just below the Steven's Canyon Road. As you can see from the profile, the main layer of concern is between 10 to 20 cm below the surface. Some moderate failuresfor the stability tests indicated that point releases are possible especially on lee slopes. However, no propagation was observed during the stability testing.





CTM(14) @ 12 cm Q3

ECTN(18) @ 12 cm Q3

RB3 @ 12 cm Q2



Keep an eye out for possible point releases on south facing aspects...there's plenty of sluffs coming off all around the Paradise area; especially the face onPanorama Point and the 4th Crossing area.

Momma Fox

This is a photo of the latest "friendly fox" that has been hanging around near where I live. A litter of fox were born this year underneath the Catholic Church in Grand Portage, MN and lately the young ones (and mom) have been very active on the grounds surrounding the church. The evening I captured this shot we had spent a total of about an hour and a half watching the foxes. Mom was around most of the time, with the young ones making an appearance every ten minutes or so. When I took this photo Mom was just sitting in the grass about 25 feet away from us, watching us as much as we were watching her. I love the eyes of a fox, they can convey so much emotion. In this photo she just seems to be more curious than anything, and her behavior also led us to believe that at this moment, the only thing on her mind was curiousity. She was probably wondering what these guys were doing pointing these big white camera lenses at her!

Below: One of Momma Fox's babies

Angels Landing :: The Encore

No, I didn't go to the top of Angels Landing a second time ;-)

The day after I made it to the top of Angels Landing I was at the Visitors Center and saw a poster on sale that showed Walter's Wiggles and Angels Landing, together. A notation stated that it had been taken from the West Rim Trail. Hmm, I wondered if I could find that spot and take my own photo. So a couple of days later, I made that trek for the third time to Scout's Lookout! The trail didn't get any easier either. But, Oh!, the views were well worth the effort.

Angels Landing from the beginning of the West Rim Trail. Scout's Lookout is in the foreground (that flat, sandy area). The trail ascends that small peak on its west side then climbs up the ridge of the second peak.

A full view of the east side of Angels Landing showing the 1200 foot sheer drop to the Virgin River flowing through the valley below.

I followed the West Rim Trail for about an hour when it took a decided turn towards the North. I looked behind me and saw an unmarked trail through the sand leading to a section of slick rock. Venturing off the trail I followed the slick rock to it's end, about half an hour or so. (Photo was taken on my way back, hence the change in lighting.)

There below me was the scene I was seeking. Walter's Wiggles and Angels Landing. I spent several hours just sitting there at the edge, looking down. It was a wonderful spot to have lunch!

By mid-afternoon, the sun had almost disappeared, clouds had moved in and the wind had picked up considerably. Reluctantly, I left my perch on the side of the canyon.

On my way back down, I caught a glimpse of the duo from another spot just a little ways off the trail. I had to carefully move down the side of a little “hill” of rock. This angle shows some of Refrigerator Canyon, which you have to go through to get to Walter's Wiggles.

Walter's Wiggles from the first vantage point.

And from the second viewpoint.

Other posts in this series:

• Angels Landing :: The Prelude
• Angels Landing :: The Overture
• Angels Landing :: Interlude
• Angels Landing :: The Finale

Wading Moose

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These images were taken on the Pigeon River in northeast Minnesota. The Pigeon River forms the border between northeast Minnesota and Ontario, Canada. I work at a state park that is right on the river, and during my shift at work I noticed there was this moose hanging around most of the afternoon on the river. After work that evening I brought my kayak out on the river and was able to get fairly close to this moose for several shots. This moose was actually suffering quite badly from brain worm, and as a result more often than not the moose was swimming in circles out in the middle of the river. Every once in a while she would get out on shore and walk around a little, but always she returned to the river and whenever she did she would end up swimming in circles. I notified the local wildlife biologist and told him I would check again in the morning to see if she was still around. The next morning before work I again brought my kayak out on the river but after searching upstream and down she was nowhere to be found, and hasn't been seen since. These images were shot from my kayak from about 40 feet away using my Canon EF 100-400mm lens.

In the Woods

In the Woods, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Walking on the Stream Trail in Redwood Regional Park.

Although located a mile from Oakland, this park seems a world away. Huge, 150-foot+ redwoods stand majestically along the trails.

You will be craning your neck most of the time...

Blue Dragon Balloon

One of my favorites of the special shapes.

Badlands :: Where the Buffalo Do Roam

Wednesday, August 24th - - As I pulled in the Sage Creek Basin Overlook, I remembered from the sign at Hay Butte that bison reportedly roam this area but I hadn't noticed any. I drove on over to the far side of the parking area and was getting out of Van Dora when I heard a grunting, snorting sound behind me.





Turning around I saw a long line of buffalo, the first few were approaching the top of the bluff and were just a few feet away! They extended for quite a distance down the hill. I immediately got back into the van and put the windows down so I could take pictures.





The vast majority of the buffalo came up on the passenger side of the van but the one above and below came up on the drivers side, and oh, so close!





I think this one must have been the calf of the one above. They stuck pretty close to each other the entire time I saw them.





I thought this was the last of them...



So after they passed by, I gathered some nerve and stood up outside the van and saw more of them coming.





Others that had already come up moved slowly through the parking lot, some continuing on across the road. But some of them stopped to browse or scratch their bellies on the posts that delineated the parking lot.





They were of all different ages and sizes and colors. Just like people, bison have distinguishing characteristics too.













For about 15 minutes I was entirely alone with this herd of bison. It was incredible. The sounds they made were like nothing I had ever heard before – growling, grunting, snorting. This car was stopped in the road waiting for the buffalo to pass – it took about 30 minutes from the time I first saw them for all of them to get to the top of the bluff and across the highway. This one lone bison lingered for quite some time scratching his belly on the post then he (or she) too moved on. And all I could do was shake my head and say Wow! again and again.