The snow folk

More snow has fallen in the last few days.  So much snow that the neighborhood kids had enough to build two snowmen; or rather a snowman and a snow-woman!  Topsie didn't approve of the snow folk loitering around the courtyard and growled at them whenever we went by.  The snow folk took it all in stride dismissing her objections to their presence.  They were, after all, only in town for a few days.

The first ice

December also brought with it the first snow and ice of the season.  As we set off on our morning walk, ice encased the world around us. The trail was covered in a dusting of icy snow and the bare branches of the trees around us were preserved in a layer of ice. As we made our way through this pristine landscape, we couldn't help but notice a set of tracks on the ground that by all accounts looked like a deer may have come this way.  It has been a few years since we've seen any deer in the glen and hopeful that they may have returned, Tinkerbelle and I came back later to leave a few apples. 

Tracks in the ice

Pendulous things

The first smaller pod

The second larger pod

December started out with the pendulous things.  On more than one occasion just a few days apart we spotted the strange pod like objects hanging from the trees.  With fall almost over, and the leaves all shed from the trees, they easy enough to spot  dangling from the bare branches. We spotted the first smaller pod on our daily walk as it hung from the branch of a bramble bush.  The second pod we spotted at the park coming across it as dusk fell upon the park.  This one was much larger than the first, big and round at the top and tapering to a narrow point at the base.  Tinkerbelle, who is the tallest, walked around the pendulous thing trying to

We spotted the pod as dusk fell

figure out what it could be.  We speculated for a while, each offering our suggestions, before agreeing that it is probably a nest of sorts. But not the sort to poke or prod, we decided, lest it turn out to contain an unfriendly surprise!

Topsie climbs the ladder

It's the beginning of the holiday season and Tinkerbelle had brought out the ladder to hang up the decorations.  Topsie, always the helpful one, pranced up and down and around the ladder, until she found herself on the top rung. Being that high up was scary she decided. Next time, she'll just stay on the ground!

Unexpected harvest

I inspected the fruit hoping it was something I could eat

We were strolling through the park today when we came upon an unexpected harvest. A pile of horse apples at the base of a tree. They lay in cluster upon the ground as though someone had carefully gathered them into a pile. Topsie and I eagerly sniffed and inspected the fruit hoping it was something edible. Alas, it was nothing we wanted to eat, so we headed home for dinner instead.

Horse apples lay on the ground

Falling leaves

It's fall and the trees are all wearing their vibrant fall coats. The leaves have started falling and lay piled up along the path where we take our daily walks. In a few weeks, they will have dried up and lost their pretty colors. But, for now, they lay in lush piles of vibrant colors occasionally drifting into swirling ribbons whenever the wind picks them up. It's quiet except for the sound of rustling as Topsie, Tinkerbelle and I shuffle through leaves on our afternoon walk.

A most unusual find

On our way home from our morning walk today, we almost trod upon this latest find.  A cluster of round mushrooms emerging from among the wood chips in the middle of the trail. "Come see these" I called to Tinkerbelle. We all gathered round to examine the small round fruitbodies.  Most likely a type of puffball, these were light brown on the outside and white on the inside with a spongy texture. A most unusual find, we all agreed.

The geese arrive

Every fall around the same time, the Canadian geese arrive at the pond.  They showed up today in the usual fashion, honking loudly in the air to announce their arrival. But this year was different in a couple of ways. The geese arrived later than usual as previous years have seen them arrive as early as September. They also usually arrive in a larger gaggle of thirteen or fourteen.  This year it was just two.  It's possible that these two are the same two that always stop by the pond in the spring on their journey back North often staying long enough to build a nest. Regardless of their number, the geese are never shy or modest about making themselves at home at the pond.  The ducks react predictably by fleeing to the far edges to sulk at the arrival of the perennial guests. It's the same every year. As we watched the pair helping themselves to breakfast that someone had left, we couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the rest of the flock.

Happy Halloween!

Today is Halloween and Topsie and I dressed up as Bonnie and Clyde. Tinkerbelle took us trick-or-treating at the Clubhouse for doggie treats. We don't get to go to the Clubhouse often so we had an especially good time mixing and mingling with all the other dogs who stopped by for treats. A fun time was had by all.

A mysterious tapping

A tiny bird on the far edge of a branch

A Downy woodpecker

We were at my favorite park this morning finishing up our walk, when we heard the

It dipped into a hole in the branch

mysterious tapping. It was a series of steady rhythmic taps ... tap-tap-tap pause tap-tap-tap pause.  We looked around and up in the trees but saw nothing.  "It's coming from this direction," I said to Tinkerbelle as I headed toward a patch of trees.  We followed the sound, but even then we saw nothing. We were about to turn back when all of a sudden, there it was...a tiny bird on the far edge of a long branch.  "It looks like a woodpecker," said Tinkerbelle following my gaze up the tree. White and black with a red patch on the top of its head, we later identified it as a Downy woodpecker. As we watched, in between tappings, it dipped in and out of a hole in the branch. "Culprit located and mystery solved!" I exclaimed as we set off  for home and breakfast.

High tide at last

It had been raining steadily for the past few days.  With the ground soggy and the trail muddy, our walks had been short and confined to the courtyard. But today, the rain finally let up and we went down to check on the pond.  With very little rain all summer long, the water level in the pond had dropped dramatically exposing wide patches of the muddy bottom. The recent rains, we hoped, would fill up the pond. As we approached the pond, happy chuffing sounds from the ducks floated towards us. And, to our relief, we saw that the pond was full once again.  The rains had raised the water level and the ducks had reclaimed their domain. All is well at the pond once more.

The water level had returned to normal

The hidey hole

Of all the rocks that lie along the stream, there is one that stands out.  Its a large flat rock that rests next to the water's edge where the steam is at its widest.  It is a great deal larger than the surrounding rocks and its broad flat surface always draws my gaze as though expecting to see someone or something perched upon it.  I never have.  But, the other day Tinkerbelle, Topsie and I did see something crawl out from under it.  In the smallest and quickest of movements, something darted out from the rock as we walked by. We stopped and squinted across the stream barely making out the diminutive form of a chipmunk.   Perhaps it had heard us walk by and came out to investigate.  It stood still just next to the rock before darting back. Probably safest under the rock with the hawks around, I thought, as I led the pack home.

A diminutive chipmunk emerged from the rock

A large flat rock rests next to the water's edge

Pool Party

It's early fall and all of the pools are closed for the season.  A recent rain shower, however, made this pool party possible for a family of robins.  We stopped and watched as the birds splashed and danced in the puddle of water. A blue jay  even flew down to join the party, stopping to indulge a sip or two of the fresh rain water. Then, Topsie, tired of watching the birds, barked loudly and frightened them all away.

Pie in the sky

They looked like pies ...

....good enough to eat, I thought

A conifer-based polypore

It was on our walk one afternoon that I came upon this latest find. From a distance, they looked like pies rising from the earth. How spectacular, I thought, delicious pies laying upon the ground just waiting to be eaten!! Alas, as I drew nearer, what my eyes perceived as pie, my nose told me was far from it. "Polypore," I exclaimed! Polypore galore, to be precise. Large fleshy masses of white and brown marked the presence of a conifer-based polypore. Although common in northern temperate zones, this was my first sighting of the species. Excited by my discovery, I examined the delicately formed layers emerging from the ground. They do look good enough to eat, I thought. Then, I hurried home for my afternoon tea, as visions of pie danced in my head.

Strange phenomenon

A strange phenomenon has plagued the pond this summer.  Despite the summer rains, the pond has been drying up; the water shrinking into shallow puddles surrounded by growing stretches of dry earth.  The ducks, ever faithful to the pond, spend most of the day roosting on the muddy banks and only occasionally dipping into the water as though it were a privilege to enjoy sparingly not to be overused or taken for granted. Tinkerbelle, Topsie and I have mulled over this strange phenomenon speculating as to its possible causes ... perhaps one or more of the waterways that feed into the pond have been blocked by debris, or perhaps it just hasn't rained heavily enough or frequently enough.  Whatever the cause, with the fall rains approaching, we hope the water will return to its normal level.

Spore of the polypore

It started out small...

While we were checking on our recently found orange fruiting bodies, we also stopped by to visit our previous find the polyppore. On one occasion we noticed that adjacent to the polypore a new

...and grew into an impressive mass

fruitbody was forming.  It started out small, but as the days went by we watched it grow into an impressive mass.  At the same time, we observed the polypore slowly darken and die.  At first, we assumed, naturally, that spore from the polypore had spawn this new creation. However, as time went by, and the new fruitbody grew, it became clear this was not spore of the same polypore but rather a species of its own.  Its multitude of intricate lobes liken it to a cauliflower mushroom.

...while the polypore darkened and died

Fruiting bounty

Orange mushrooms with light concave center

I was beginning to lament the end of mushroom hunting season when nature surprised me once again. Walking through the woods last week I stumbled across a patch of bright orange mushrooms. Whiskers twitching and tail wagging, I pushed through the grass and called out to Tinkerbelle. Tucked away in the shadow of the tall grass, a large fruiting colony had spread through the undergrowth. We had never seen anything like it before. Delighted by this find, we stopped by to admire it often. Then one drizzly morning as we went by the patch, we noticed that the fruitbodies had changed dramatically. The caps had flattened and the color had deepened to a dark orange creating the appearance of a completely different mushroom.  While surprised by this development, it is not unusual for mushrooms to change as they age. Our best guess as to the species is that these are Jack O'Lanterns or a type of Lactarius.

As the days went by its appearance changed dramatically

Sam I am

This week a new member joined the pack. The first thing that struck me about the new member was his unusual appearance.  He was short and round with very little fur, no snout, and no ears.  Tinkerbelle said "Come meet Sam." "Sam," he said, "I am." It turns out Sam is to be in charge of cleaning up after the pack. I had my doubts about whether Sam enjoyed this task much as he seemed to emit a continuous grumble even as he went about performing his assigned duties. But my concerns were allayed when he nudged me off of my favorite rug and set about enthusiastically cleaning it. I'm beginning to think Sam rather likes his task, zooming around importantly, nudging us all out of his way, then retreating to his favorite spot under the dresser to take a nap.

He nudged me off my favorite rug

The hawks again

One day, earlier this week, we encountered the hawks again. It was by the stream that we saw the first one. We must have startled it as we walked by as it rose suddenly from below and disappeared into the trees. Then the air filled with screeches - the kind a hawk makes when it circles the skies. We scanned the treetops trying to follow the sound but saw nothing but the dense canopy. We had started to move on when, from  the opposite direction, the second hawk appeared flying high up into the tree before us. Then we understood. The startled offspring had called for its mother and here she was. From the branches above she watched us, and when satisfied that we presented no threat, she silently departed in the direction of the stream. We chatted happily about seeing the hawks again as we made our way home, stopping only to admire a butterfly as it landed in the grass.

Monarch butterfly on a blade of grass

Favorite things

One of my favorite things to do on our daily walks is to sniff out mushrooms and other fungi and point them out to Tinkerbelle. Tinkerbelle keeps track of all the different varieties that I find. The peak season for mushroom fruiting is spring and early summer, and so by now, most of the mushrooms have disappeared. But, sometimes when you are least expecting it, you find the thing you weren't expecting to find.  And so it was this morning, as we walked along the trail, that I caught the pleasant scent of a polypore. Tracking the scent, I uncovered a large fruiting specimen carefully concealed in the foliage. Commonly found in wooded areas, polypores are identified by their dense layers of fan-shaped brackets.  This one is possibly a bitter polypore or a black-staining polypore.

I tracked the scent of a polypore

The polypore was concealed in the foliage

A visitor to the pond

Although the pond is regularly inhabited by the mallards, every now and then a visitor comes its way.  There are the seasonal visitors like the Canadian geese that fly in every fall on their way south. Then there are the occasional visitors that appear every now and then.  I remember the first such visitor we saw, a snowy white bird towering tall and graceful among the stout brown ducks.  Its yellow bill and black legs marked it as a Great Egret. It stayed around for about a week, its white feathers beaming like a beacon against the  murky waters of the pond. Then one day it left, most likely on its way to brighten another pond.

A Great Egret visits the pond



It stood tall and graceful among the ducks





A very hot week

"Topsie's gone flopsie, again," I remarked to Tinkerbelle.  It had been a very hot week and Topsie was having the worst of it.  Five minutes into a walk and she was flopped down on the ground. And there she would lay despite Tinkerbelle's coaxing, rolling around among the cooler blades of grass.  I wished Topsie wouldn't fuss so much about the heat because it usually ended up with a trip to the groomer. Sure enough, a few days later, there we were getting our fur clipped.  To be fair, a shorter cut is more comfortable and Topsie even got two bows in her hair.

Topsie flopped down

Topsie with bows in her hair

An unexpected surprise

Today, as we set off down the trail, I spotted in the distance what looked like a small pile of dry leaves on the side of the trail.  But, as we got closer, we were met with an unexpected surprise as the pile of leaves turned out to be a turtle. I stopped to say hello, but it seemed to be in a hurry and did not stop to chat.  As it marched off, about as quickly as a turtle can, we bid it good day and went on our way.

I stopped to say hello to an eastern box turtle

The spotted bird

This morning as we walked along the trail, a bird bobbing in the grass caught my eye. The bird was unusual in that it was covered in spots and had a distinctive crescent mark upon its chest.  Not having seen a bird like this before, we crept in for a closer look.  The bird, unperturbed, posed patiently for a picture. Then, in a flash of white, it flew away. Later, when Tinkerbelle looked it up, we learned that the bird was a Northern Flicker woodpecker, a species that likes to eat ants from the ground.

A Northern Flicker woodpecker