Stereum species are wood decay fungi with simple, shelving fruiting bodies. Common names for species of this genus include leaf fungus, wax fungus, and shelf fungus. This one might be Stereum ostrea, also called false turkey-tail.
Stereum
Blog
amaryllis
My neighbour gave me an amaryllis bulb in December and it’s doing its thing! So pretty!
backbone #1
Over the next few months, I’ll be hiking the 67-mile/108-km Backbone Trail in easy chunks. Annette and I started with section one on New Years Day, Will Rogers to Trippet Ranch. It was a gorgeous day, and we were tired and happy at the end. A great way to start the year!
role reversal
Seems the wildlife is capturing the camera, instead of vice versa. We might need to reconsider this location.
mott adobe
Back in 1910, John G. Mott, a Los Angeles lawyer and member of Crags Country Club, built an adobe hacienda near Malibu Creek in what is now State Park. Mott was buddies with President Herbert Hoover, who reportedly liked to visit his friend and get away from the pressures of national leadership.
Fast forward to 1969, when heavy rains caused serious damage to the hacienda. The following year, a wildfire swept through. Now, all that remains of the Mott Adobe is the stone fireplace. But I like to imagine Johnny and Herb sitting in armchairs in front of the fire, swirling brandy, smoking cigars, and discussing the fish they caught that day.
January book group
I plan to read a lot more non-fiction in 2024, so book group picks might be pretty much my only fictional forays. This one was the 2023 International Booker Prize winner; let’s see if I agree with the judges!
Stenopelmatini
We discovered a Jerusalem cricket exoskeleton. Given the opportunity to sketch it from any angle, I decided to draw its ventral (under) side. Thanks to Trisha from Insectopia, I can name a few insect parts!
Jerusalem crickets have hypognathus heads, which means their mouthparts point down. That pointy bit at the bottom of the head is the mouth. The palps are little ‘mouth fingers’ that help push food into their maw.
We’ve been seeing these big guys a LOT of late, in the house, in the yard, and out on the trails. They are not venomous, but they have strong mandibles and can inflict a painful bite. They also emit a foul odour if distressed. For these reasons, I don’t usually handle live ones, so it was a treat to have this molt to examine closely.
staring contest
Just playin’ around.
phoney woes
I was excited about trading my iPhone 6 for a 12 Pro … but sadly, the gifted one has a fatal flaw.
gum leaves
hashiworks 