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:
Yellow-footed Chanterelle
Chanterelle, (Donna).
Chanterelle, (Donna).
White Chanterelle
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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.
Hiking The North Carolina Mountains
Posted on September 11, 2017
Every couple of years we rendezvous with friends near Asheville, NC for a few days of hiking. Much of what is seen is different than that found in in central Ohio and that’s part of the area’s appeal. However, unlike central Ohio with it relatively flat terrain, the rugged ups and downs make the trails no walk in the woods. Because of this, as well as the length of some of the hikes, the serious cameras were left at home. Even so my wife got some excellent results with her Panasonic FZ200 while I explored the performance limits of the ZS50.
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Our base of operation is the Sourwood Inn which is convenient to Ashville and highly recommended should you find yourself in the area for a hiking vacation or just a quiet getaway. On our recent trip we hiked portions of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST), The Snowball Mountain Trail, Craggy Gardens Trail, and the Craggy Pinnacle Trail which are part of the Craggy Gardens Trails group.
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In past years we’ve seen plenty of fungi, moss, and lichen, and this year was no exception. Usually numerous butterflies are seen while hiking but this year we saw more along the Blue Ridge Parkway as we drove to the various trailheads which was not convenient for pictures.
Along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) near Rattle Snake Lodge.
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Usually located not far off the trail, fungi, lichen, and moss captured our attention. Except for the low light seeing and photographing it is relatively straight forward. However, once in possession of a photograph trying to identify it can be a humbling experience. Over the years we’ve seen some often enough that identification is straight forward. For most this is not the case so many of the ID’s should be taken as our best guess.
In the family of the boletes, Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) near Rattle Snake Lodge.
Probably in the bolete family, Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) near Rattle Snake Lodge.,
Honey Mushroom, , Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) near Rattle Snake Lodge.
A family of mushrooms, unidentified, Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) near Rattle Snake Lodge.
Powder-cap Amanita, Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) near Rattle Snake Lodge.
This mushroom appears to be past it’s prime (note mold) making identification difficult.
Tinder Polypore, Snowball Mountain Trail
Mushrooms and Lung Lichen keep each other company, Snowball Mountain Trail.
Old Man’s Beard lichen and leaves with a hint of autumn, Snowball Mountain Trail.
Turkey Tail, Snowball Mountain Trail.,
This group appear to be some type of chanterelle, Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) near Rattle Snake Lodge.
Another mushroom group along a trail near the inn.
A member of the bolete family, Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) near Rattle Snake Lodge.
Rooted Polypore, along a trail near the inn.
Velvet Foot, Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) near Rattle Snake Lodge, (Donna).
White Coral, Snowball Mountain Trail.
Crown-tipped Coral along a trail near the inn.
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One of several overlooks on the Snowball Mountain Trail.
A short but steep descent to Hawkbill Rock with it’s beautiful vista, Snowball Mountain Trail.
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When we weren’t trying to figure out the fungi there were wildflowers to enjoy.
Pinesap, Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) near Rattle Snake Lodge.
To late for Foam Flower so this one remains unidentified, Snowball Mountain Trail.
Beech-drops, a parasitic plant which grows and subsists on the roots of American beech, line portions of the Snowball Mountain Trail.
Indian Cucumber Root, Snowball Mountain Trail.
Downey Rattlesnake Plantain, Mountains-to-Sea Trail.
Snakeroot often bordered the trail, Craggy Gardens Trail.
Asters, Craggy Gardens Trail.
This is one of those cases where I was so fascinated with the structure of the flower that I forgot to photograph the leaves making identification almost impossible, Craggy Gardens Trail.
A cool morning made this lethargic bee easy to photograph on some trailside Goldenrod, Craggy Gardens Trail.
Turtlehead, Mountains-to-Sea Trail, (Donna).
Mountain Laurel, Snowball mountain Trail, (Donna).
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Overlook at Craggy Pinnacle.
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And butterflies:
Appalachian Brown, Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) near Rattle Snake Lodge, (Donna).
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) near Rattle Snake Lodge, (Donna).
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Even a turtle:
Box Turtle, Mountain to Sea Trail near Rattlesnake Lodge, (Donna).
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But not as many birds as we would have liked:
Dark-eyed Junco, Craggy Pinnacle, (Donna). Seen in central Ohio only in late fall through early spring. However, due to the elevation which creates a climate similar to that occurring much further north, these birds are year round residents.
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A view along Craggy Gardens Trail.
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With it’s high elevation and harsh weather trees have to be tough to survive along the Pinnacle Trail.
Located along the Craggy Pinnacle Trail one wonders how many times this tree has been photographed.
Another view.
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For those in the eastern part of the country looking for a some beautiful mountain hiking, the area near Asheville, NC is highly recommended. The plus is that with a vibrant downtown, good restaurants, fascinating shops, and excellent galleries, Asheville is a great place to explore should you decide your legs need a rest day.
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Thanks for stopping by.
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XXX
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