Well, the start of weather this morning might have seemed like a dreary lifeless day ahead, but it definitely was not. Moreover that would be impossible when you head to the grasslands as Jeanne and I did today. 🙂
You may remember this fungus in the post from two days ago. I decided to check on the Jack O’Lantern mushroom which was near this location. I had hope it would have sprouted a few more buddies. It had not. ;-(
However the earthstar was a good start for a replacement fungus. 🙂
A flash brought out the bright green of the moss Pogonatum brachyphyllum. No fruiting bodies had been produced yet. Many more mosses will be fruiting as the season progresses. And this was early in the walk-about today.
Purple Cliff Brake ferns hung above the mosses!
A curtain of dirt on the bank.
Mosses, ferns, roots and creature trails can all be found in the ravines.
As you can see the ravine was sucking us into a magical realm.
So as you might guess I have a few pictures to go through. So of course more tomorrow. LOL
Love these ravines! And always so cool how the soil forms shapes like this curtain as water runs down it.
Yesterday we had something funny happen. I was scooping up dirt from a pile with my tractor to put down as a driveable path over a log set down for erosion control. About the 3rd scoop full I was about to dump it when a lizard appeared. Apparently I disturbed it from its hibernation. It looked a bit on the drunk side when it ran. And the day before when I moved a log I found one of our Narrow-mouthed toads. They look more like frogs with a wet smooth skin. And so cute. Better finds than all the scorpions and fire ants I usually find.
In the “mosses, ferns, roots…” pic do you know what the round green leaves sticking out of the ground are?
Baby Purple Cliff Brake. That must have seemed like a rude awakening for the lizard. We have the narrow mouth toads too. But haven’t seen many toads this year of any species. 😉
The Grasslands are never dreary! Interesting articles. I’m glad the mystery of the sailing stones is solved, and the theory of a “longevity bottleneck” is fascinating..
That curtain of dirt looks unreal or other worldly. Love the moving rock. Too bad about the jack o lantern mushroom.
Love these ravines! And always so cool how the soil forms shapes like this curtain as water runs down it.
Yesterday we had something funny happen. I was scooping up dirt from a pile with my tractor to put down as a driveable path over a log set down for erosion control. About the 3rd scoop full I was about to dump it when a lizard appeared. Apparently I disturbed it from its hibernation. It looked a bit on the drunk side when it ran. And the day before when I moved a log I found one of our Narrow-mouthed toads. They look more like frogs with a wet smooth skin. And so cute. Better finds than all the scorpions and fire ants I usually find.
In the “mosses, ferns, roots…” pic do you know what the round green leaves sticking out of the ground are?
Baby Purple Cliff Brake. That must have seemed like a rude awakening for the lizard. We have the narrow mouth toads too. But haven’t seen many toads this year of any species. 😉
I haven’t seen an earth star in a while. They’re neat!
Indeed they are!
Sailing stones in the desert – who would have thought they would be sliding along on melting ice. Vert patient detective work.
The Grasslands are never dreary! Interesting articles. I’m glad the mystery of the sailing stones is solved, and the theory of a “longevity bottleneck” is fascinating..