Central Ohio NatureAugust Rain and Mushrooms
Posted on August 29, 2018
Recently, after several wet days, we decided to take a drive to one of our favorite central Ohio hiking destinations, Clear Creek Metro Park. It’s a park that many frequent when they’re getting in shape for more exotic destinations like the Appalachian Tail or Rocky Mountain National Park. The tails are that challenging. In our case it was more about seeing mushrooms that we wouldn’t find in parks closer to home, but a beautiful rugged trial lined with ferns that winds its way through old growth Hemlock and oak with a trailhead sign that says something like, “Caution, unimproved trail, proceed at your own risk”, is always a plus. Being located at the southern edge of the last glacier’s advance, on land that has for the most part never been disturbed by farming, logging, or other human activities, has a lot to do with the parks beauty. To optimize our chance of seeing mushrooms we decided to use the Creekside Meadows Trail to access the Fern/Hemlock trail loop. Certainly not the longest hike in the park but given our propensity to stop a look at things it made for a good day’s outing.
Park Trail Map
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Just a short note about the cameras used during the hike. We consider ourselves nature lovers who enjoy capturing the beauty of what we see. Often our outings involve a canoe or long hikes over relatively rugged terrain. For this reason hauling a lot of equipment may not be possible or may take away from the experience of “being” in nature. Recently I’ve been experimenting with a Canon 80D Tamron 18-400 mm combo while my wife continues to rely on a Panasonic FZ200 superzoom for many of her insect and fungi shots. Overall I’m happy with the performance of the DSLR combo and it’s potential for more creative control. However, in the sunny day darkness of Clear Creek’s deep woods, with auto ISO limited to 3200, handheld shots were chancy at best and mostly disappointing. A tripod would have resolved the problem but toting it around as well as setting it up for most shots would have changed the flavor of the hike. On the other hand the FZ200 with its fast 2.8 lens, and auto ISO limited to 800, much more consistently provided usable pictures without the use of a tripod. Something that is good to know because while there is no right or wrong when it come to how we pursue photography it is important to ask yourself what it is you are trying to get from an experience before investing in equipment.
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Chanterelles:
Chanterelle or possibly Golden-gilled Gerronema (Gerronema strombodes)?
Another look, (Donna).
Take 3, (Donna).
A different color variation.
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White Phlox
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Shelf like mushrooms:
Turkeytail, (Donna).
Another look.
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Fall Phlox
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Boletes:
Shaggy-stalked Bolete, (Donna)
Shaggy-stalked Bolete another example.
Two-colored Bolete, (Donna).
King Bolete
Unidentified bolete.
Unidentified bolete
Russula, (Donna).
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A small, yet to be identified, wildflower.
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Other mushrooms:
Destroying Angel, not a good selection for the dinner table!
Yellow Tuning Fork
Orange Mycena
Very large emerging free gill mushroom
Further along.
. . . still further.
Unidentified small mushrooms.
Clustered Coral
An unidentified veiled mushroom.
Appears to be a more mature example of the above mushroom.
Unidentified veiled mushroom.
Very tiny unidentified mushrooms
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Pinesap, a parasitic plant classified as a wildflower.
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Along the Creekside Meadows Trail near the end of our day a hiking companion spotted this tiny Ring-necked Snake. The first one we’ve ever seen during our outings.
Ring-necked Snake, (Donna).
Another look, (Donna).
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Finally, I must admit that we are on the steep part of the learning curve when it comes to mushrooms. Using the guides we have available a frustrating number remain unidentified. Perhaps that is a good thing in the world of mushrooms because if you wrongly identify a mushroom it could be hazardous to your health!
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Thanks for stopping by.
It’s A Butterfly Time Of Year
Posted on August 16, 2018
Not that they aren’t seen earlier in the spring and summer but August does seem to be the time for butterflies. This year it’s been almost impossible to be out for any length of time without seeing a Monarch. In the late morning or afternoon small but beautiful Pearl Crescents make the shorter grass along the trail their playground. The beauty of some butterflies like the Giant Swallowtail is apparent to even a casual observer but others like the Buckeye reveal their beauty only after a closer look. Others like the hairstreaks are easy to miss altogether unless you know what to look for. The good news is that you don’t have to get up a the crack of dawn to see butterflies.
Sunlight filters through the woods along the Big Derby during a recent butterfly hike.
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So below is a celebration of butterflies that have been seen in the last few weeks. Much of the credit must go to my wife who tirelessly pursues these usually unpredictable creatures until she gets the shot she wants while I often content myself to photographing the more predictable wildflowers.
In late summer Bull Thistle is common in the prairie areas of Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park and seems to attract it’s share of Monarchs.
The Giant Swallowtail is Ohio’s largest butterfly and not one we see every day, Griggs Reservoir Park..
A Giant Swallowtail depositing eggs, (Donna).
Great Blue Lobelia enjoying the more shaded areas of Griggs Reservoir Park.
A very small female Eastern-tailed Blue rewards Donna by opening it’s wings.
Prairie sunflowers, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park.
The beautiful but very small Gray Hairstreak, (Donna).
Hackberry Emperors are fairly common in Griggs reservoir Park and on a warm day enjoy hitching a ride on your arm to take advantage of your perspiration, (Donna).
Cardinal Flower
A small Summer Azure almost seems to blend in, (Donna).
Wingstem, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park prairie.
The not often seen Meadow Fritillary
The fairly common but lovely Orange Sulfur, (Donna).
New England Aster
Usually not seen in central Ohio until late summer or fall the medium size Buckeye is striking, Griggs Reservoir Park, (Donna).
Fringed Loosestrife also enjoys the more shaded areas along the Scioto River.
A small Zabulon Skipper, (Donna).
A small but lovely Common Checkered Skipper, (Donna).
Lazard’s Tail along the Scioto River, Griggs Reservoir Park.
Silver Spotted Skipper, Griggs Reservoir Park.
Tall Blue Lettuce, Griggs Reservoir Park.
Red-spotted Purple, (Donna).
Another look, (Donna).
Gray-headed Coneflowers seem to take flight.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Another look.
A somewhat faded black form of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, (Donna)
Black Swallowtail, (Donna).
Black Swallowtail laying eggs, (Donna).
Ironweed, Griggs Reservoir Park.
The Peck’s Skipper is a very small moth like butterfly, (Donna).
Cup Plant
Monarch, (Donna).
Monarch
Trumpet Flowers, (Donna).
Mating Pearl Crescents
Pearl Cresent
Tall Bellflower
Eastern Comma
The tiny flowers of Virginia Knotweed.
Certainly not the most aesthetic setting, a Zebra Swallowtail lands in our canoe just as we finish a paddle on Paint Creek, (Donna).
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Where there are butterflies and moths there are caterpillars and no one is better at spotting them than my wife.
Brown-hooded Owlet, (Donna).
Monarch caterpillar, (Donna).
Orange Dog (Giant Swallowtail caterpillar), (Donna).
Another look.
Black Swallowtail caterpillar showing horns. Horns extend when head is touched lightly. Donna).
Without horns protruding, (Donna).
Sycamore Tussock Moth caterpillar, (Donna).
Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars, (Donna).
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We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge some of the birds that continue to charm us as we walk through the woods of central Ohio.
Male Goldfinch, (Donna).
This time of year False Dragonhead can be seen along the shore of Griggs Reservoir.
A Ruby throated Hummingbird checks out the Bull Thistle at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, (Donna).
Woodland Sunflowers offer a splash of color in the woods along the Scioto River.
A Tufted Titmouse checks Donna out as she attempts to take it’s picture.
Indigo Bunting, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park.
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So what was I doing while my wife was taking so many excellent photographs in central Ohio? Fishing in Michigan of course.
This nice Largemouth Bas went swimming right after posing for this picture.
Fishing at sunset on Devoe Lake, Rifle River Recreation Area.
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If time spent in nature speaks to the essence of your being, your soul, you have riches greater than any material procession can offer. A wealth that grows in health, spirit, and the awareness of being part of the greater mystery. Thanks for stopping by.
Central Ohio Nature 