filled with fungi

Well hello Fungi.

I finally made it out to Skidaway today, and what a day it was. This trip followed a morning of wonderous insight and proposed opportunities. Super inspired; and of course Skidaway only added to this.

While in Wy all summer, because the climate is so dry there, I wasn't presented with many a mushroom. (Except on my last hike in Death Canyon...which I'll get around to posting something from that great day...one day).

It was overcast and misty, the sky could have fallen on my at any moment, but I was headed in anyway. It was nice because everything was damp from the earlier rain...which means everything was much more vibrant. Everything looks better when it's wet. So,I walked into the woods and was SLAPPED in the face with the smell of sour (in a good way?) moist salt and FUNGUS. all over!

I took over 150 pictures today...hey it happens...


This was actually taken on my way out. Hey Mother Nature, I'm likeing this Renaissance composition...You know, with the triangle and all. yeah...

Before I get into the glorious world of fungi, I want to post a few other things I experienced today. Mostly just sweet sweet instances. ah :)


Like this. :) mmm I realize the importance of looking UP. Not just forward.

Also, on a side note while I'm thinking about it. The scariest thing ever is getting overly excited about something over there on that dead tree. So you go close to it to examine it and take a picture and as you start to stand up straight, still amazed, you realize that your HEAD WAS 6 INCHES FROM A SPIDER'S WEB. shit. that sucks. That's happened to me so many times. Then you get fascinated by it and have a spider photo shoot. :)...except I didn't do that today....anyway.



I don't think I'll ever get over this. Towering over me are huge oak trees with their limbs spread open and wide, decked and draped in Spanish Moss. My face bathing in the trickling fragmented sun rays that just touched all over the long hanging moss.



It's like they're playing Ring Around the Rosie...in slow motion.



So I don't know if I fully understand what's going on here. The spider web is holding rain. what?



Why did the boy throw the butter out of the window?



Hello fiber student! I'm interested in you. ;)

Now for the infamous tree bark segment which will seg-way right into the FUNgiiii section YEAH



Oh you'd like to see complementary colors in nature you say? here you go sir. (image NOT manipulated. btw...)



Papa Tree bends, his bark wrinkles. Oh so gracefully.



Check out that color. Just look at her. She's ready for a tea party don't you think? So elegant.



Oh oh OH so much going on! This reminds me of barnacles. Check out that blast of slices framing those baby wrinkles.



I mean..... Sometime's im just overwhelmed by how great something is...that I don't even want to begin to comment or describe it. This is one of those moments. dkfjsdkjf;adsj LOOK AT THAT




Excuse me Sir, You ordered the Fungi Sampler correct?

Now begins the Fuuuuuun. gi. So, I decided that instead of just admiring these great beauties of the world, I should really start to educate myself on what I'm looking at. So I'm attempting to identify what I can with what I have. Here we go.

I'm most certain that These next fellas are trametes versicolor, common name: Turkey Tail.



These guys were EVERYWHERE! They are a type of fungi called polypore. NOW I know what to call them.



They like dead and decomposing trees.



You'd think, or at least I'd think, that to touch they'd feel thin, dry, and flaky. Like a dried leaf. WRONG. They're cold, moist, leathery, and fleshy feeling. Sooooooo good.



I think if they had their own tv show, their theme song would be something along the lines of "We are Family..."




Next on the trail of identifiable fungi is the tyromyces chioneus. I'm not sure what his common name is. But he, too, is a polypore.



I'm not 100% sure he is who I say he is. But it's what I think he is.



I spotted him hanging out all alone, which is what I read these guys like to do.



And the description of this textured crater-ous epidermis sound correctamundo.


Now this next guy.... could easily not be who I say he is. There are a few images online that look similar and some that look completely different. The only way to be sure would be to do a spore print. And that's not going to happen. So take this "with a grain of salt." Ladies and Gentleman, gyroporus purpurinus He'd be considered a bolete. :)




:)

For the next guys...unfortunately at the moment, I am unable to identify them. But, none the less, they do exist.



A group of yellow gilled mushrooms. :)



A fungus on a fungus.




velvet-y


yes please.


We'll just call this one Tina Turner.
But on a different note....DO YOU SEE HOW INSANE THIS IS?!?!?!?! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh



Dear favorite (above), I am silently freaking out. I love you. a lot.


Ball of lichen^


Heron?


good day.

sitting by things i probably shouldn't be sitting by.

I definitely had one of the best days I've had in a while today. Skidaway always seems to give me those days. I'm always presented with the most wonderfully unexpected experiences.

I seriously almost cried I was so happy at some points.

So first. Listen to how beautiful...and really interesting..Does anyone know what kind of bird this is? He was pretty small.



I went to Skidaway to work on my 3d fibers final..to be amongst the inspiration that is contributing to my piece...trees...and their lovely skin.

When I first got out there I realized that it was going to be hot, I was wearing jeans, and I really wanted a ponytail to put what little hair I do somewhat kind of have that might possibly fit into a ponytail in the back of my head..into a ponytail...and I had none. None the less...I progressed.
THEN as I was walking I realized that I was getting swarmed by gnats, mosquitoes, and horseflies... So I thought to myself..."yeahhh I'm just going to walk the trail then go home to felt...no stopping." Oh, by the way I went down a new trail this time.

As I was walking I kept thinking that everything looked SOOOO amazing, and I was comparing it to the trail I had been down a few times. It reminded me of John Cage and the interview I saw where he spoke about how he'd like to experience everything new again... to basically erase memories so that he can see things fully and new and different every time he experiences them.

Anywho. I came to a fork. I could either go around the loop and back to the entrance to my car...go home away from the gnats and work on my final...ooooorrrr I could go see what they meant by "Earthworks" down the new trail I hadn't gone on.

I went the new direction.

Pretty soon after I turned down that way I came upon this small little opening off of the trail. It was right by a tree and it overlooked the marsh and some fallen dead trees. The breeze was perfect, it was shady, and...the gnats were gone!

It said to me. SIT!

So I did. I hung out with some new friends while I was there. But first I just want to say that I made myself the happiest person EVER. Shush that's not being conceded..people should make themselves happy.

So for my fibers final I'm making tree bark out of felt..but I don't necessarily have an end result planted in my head. The main focus of my piece is about the PROCESS and not the END PRODUCT. I want to PLAY. So I did. and I absolutely love that it does not, in any way, feel like homework. BUT what made me so happy is that while I was stacking the pieces of felt to make the tree bark I kind of WRINKLED one part of it AND OH MY GOODNESS I'M FELTING TREE WRINKLES!!!!!!!!!!! It's soooooo aweeesomeeeeee. I'm excited.

:) So mi amigos. I realized that if you name things that annoy you..or just things in general they become a lot more pleasant.

This is Henry.



He bit me on my foot twice. But then I caught on to his game. He though he was being stealthy by hanging out on my blanket for a while then slowly moving towards my foot. But I kept him in check.

Then there was Butch. He was a bigger horsefly. Bigger and LOUDER. He scared the piss out of me all day long. I almost needle felted my eye a few times. He pretty much followed me everywhere I went to. What a butthole.

There was also Horas. He was smaller and much more hyperactive... He may have been a gnat.

Sylvia Brown was a little golden sap colored spider who wanted to share a blanket with me. I didn't agree.

Thomas the beetle hung out for a little. He must have lived near the base of the tree I was by because he kept coming back and disappearing.

Martha flew by for about a minute.


Then there was the assembly of fiddler crabs conducting a silent orchestra.


All of these guys kept me company.
then.


Throughout all of this, past experiences, and what happened next, I realize that being still and almost silent in the forest will produce veryyyy interesting occurrences. A person will witness things that they may not have had the chance to do had they just kept walking. It reminds me that we need to be more patient with life...that good things will come to those who wait...however cliche' that may be.

Though.. this could have definitely NOT been a good thing.
I was hangin out, felting some skin and I heard something....every so slightly. I took a glance to my left to see this looong black sssssnake looking at me...looking at me...two yards away. We were on the same level! So I froze and thought..."camera?...no" Then I looked away and stayed still. Then I looked back at him, he hadn't moved. So I looked away again and stayed pretty still. Then as quickly as I could I got up and ran to the trail!
I eased my way back to where my things were ( I heard him slither away as I ran) and he was no where in sight. Soooo I sat back down. Looked around a bit really paranoid and I saw



this about 2 feet behind me. If a snake were a snake this would be his house. WHICH got me thinking. How do snakes dig their holes??? They don't have hands...do they drill it with their tails? I'm confused.

Anyway, so I convinced myself that he went into his hole and thought about staying to felt more..just facing the hole to watch him if he came out. Then I realized that this was all a bad idea so I packed up my things to leave. After everything was packed and I'm standing on the trail I look over to see



This guy, who I've now named Ronald, watching me. Insteaaaaad of heading back the opposite direction of me... because I really wanted to finish the loop I was on and because.... I wanted to get a better picture of him, I eased my way around and TADAH



Ronald is loooooooooooong. I think he's a black racer.

So by this point I'm reallly paranoid about everything that moves. But it was still a very pleasant walk. This new trail had A LOT of lizards. The ..tree? lizards. You know those green ones that turn brown sometimes? plus salamanders and then there was......

THIS BIG GUY!

I saw a few of him around but I wasn't able to get any good pictures. This one must have wanted to boast about his half eaten meal because he hung out for a good solid 30 seconds.




HE'S EATING HIS COUSIN!!!! He's a broad-headed skink! and apparently he can grow to be THIRTEEN INCHES LONG! ahh

I stood on that trail, with my mouth open...in shock...for a while.


Then I continued on. I discovered this toottalllyyy awesome gazebo thing that extended OUT INTO THE WATER! : 0

It was a good day.
it was a goooooooood dayyyy.

yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyay

When I get that feeling. That nervous feeling. When my legs go numb and my face gets hot. When my heart jumps into my ears and my throat and my hands start to tingle. I like to let it ride out. Instead of fighting it off, I like to enjoy it. I like to feel it. I like to feel it fade away.

The scariest things come in the cutest packages.

Today was my first day off in 7 days and I had planned (before I got my job) that over spring break I might find some kind of clarity about what I want to do with my future. I decided to go to Skiddaway because it's my favorite place in Savannah. Actually it's my favorite place in general.

As I was walking down to trail I realized I should focus primarily on the small details. Usually when I walk I tend to look at the ground. Last time I went to Skiddaway I think I tried to look more above me. This time I wanted to look at the trees.
I keep getting more and more fascinated with the textures of trees. Especially TREE WRINKLES. :O
Yeah... tree wrinkles.









I mean... how can I NOT be obsessed with tree wrinkles? If I were a tree part, I would be a tree wrinkle.

I also really liked the layering effect of the pine tree bark.


It's cool how there are slight decreases in height that make up these organic shaped islands. There are islands on top of islands on top of islands surrounded by deep crusty trenches. And some of the islands peel off like stickers! (except there's no glue on the back)


Towards the bottom of some of the pine trees the bark rose up really high which made really deep grooves. The bark that rose up was made of a BUNCH of layers of thin bark. Prettttty sweet.

While I was observing tree barks I happened upon, only the MOST AWESOME THING EVER. He was a LICHEN IMPOSTOR!









Sorry my camera operation sucks. I was way too excited.

So I googled him. He's a Green Lacewing larvae!! They are "alligator" shaped flat little things with tiny legs. They wear lichen hats for camouflage! People buy these little guys for pest control. Larvae can devour up to 200 pests/eggs a WEEK! "Lacewing larvae voraciously attack their prey by seizing them with large, sucking jaws and inject a paralyzing venom. The hollow jaws then draw out the body fluids of the pest."

more here!

I also found some crazy (non walking) neon colored lichen:









And there were these fat lichen:





They reminded me of "*drum solo* THANK YOU DARK CONTINENT!"

Early on in my venture I found this bulbous stick-wand. It became my companion. He helped me fight off copperheads and spiders. Though... I actually encountered neither.


But, unfortunately it could not protect me from what I DID encounter. Scariest moment of my life maybe. Okay maybe not. but...it was definitely. scary.

I found this place off the trail ( i guess that spells danger "off the trail" right?) that was perfect to sit and write/figure out things.

Listen to how perfect it was:



But then...just as I was really starting to figure things out maybe...I heard footsteps! I look over to my left to meet eyes with

A R A C C O O N!

When our gazes locked he immediately turned around and ran up a tree about 3 yards away from me. Now....I'm not quite sure why, if you see something dangerous, you would run up a tree in visual range of the thing you are scared of. Because he just blocked himself in. So I casually took out my camera to get some pictures and ....

I hear more footsteps!! Another one!!!! I slowly turned my camera to him and put it on record. Except this one didn't notice me until WAY later. He was like THREE FEET AWAY FROM ME. And instead of running away immediately. HE STAYED THERE STARING AT ME!



I'm pretty sure I was even more scared of him than he was of me. I froze. I stood completely still staring at him. Then I turned away. I didn't want to watch my attacker infect me with rabies. Or more likely I didn't want to intimidate him. He won. Let him run away in victory. Or just run away. I kept the camera facing him. It was the longest minute of my life. Finally he ran away...and up THE SAME TREE AS THE OTHER ONE.

Now, why didn't the first one warn the second one of what he was getting into??!? Because I KNOW they communicate. I saw them whispering to each other. All of my concentration was lost now. All I could think about were those two guys conspiring against me in the tree as they stared me down. I tried to ignore them. But then I convinced myself that they were mustering up the courage to attack me..or worse...call in for back-up.









Right as that though of back up sparked in my thoughts, I thought I heard some rattling. That was the last straw. I packed up my stuff. And may or may not have ran a little.... But before I got to the trail I stopped to see what they did. Apparently they weren't the best of friends because not only did the first one not warn the second one, but one of them abandoned the other in the tree! He was gone! Only one was left...just a little higher up in the tree.

They stressed me out pretty bad. I jumped at every leaf rustle. After that I went to this pick-nick table to finish my contemplation.

Unfortunately I don't have any evidence of my next surprise, but as I was on my way to the table this HUMONGOUS shadow passed over me and the ground. I looked up to see this equally as large bird soaring over me. it was SO BIG. I don't know what he was :( But he was magical.

W h a t a d a y.