Oak Leaves on the Rocky Ridge

I found these leaves on the rocky ridge above Lawson's Fork while hiking with my hubby and Daisy Sunday afternoon. The lacy pattern on the post oak leaf was quite striking, noticeable even mixed in with all the other leaves. The other leaf was obvious because of the Polyphemus Moth cocoon. I've never seen one of those cocoons attached to a leaf - always a branch or twig. The day was warm - almost 70 degrees - and sunny, making it the best kind of winter day to be wandering in the woods.

It was nice having company on the hike! Here is a shot Ben took while we were resting on the rocky ridge above Lawson's Fork. I'm giving Daisy a yummy home-made peanut butter treat.

Later we went down to Lawson's Fork to let Daisy play on the little islands there. She loves playing in the water.

The weather has turned cold again since then - I've had my silk long underwear on today and sleet is clicking against the windows tonight. And even though the warm day was nice, I love winter! I love the naked trees and seeing the lay of the land through the hardwood forests. Plus, I am still hoping for one more beautiful snow storm before spring... just one.

Cordyceps capitata on South-facing Slope

The steep slope Daisy and I explored today faces south and drops down to Meetinghouse Creek at its confluence with Lawson's Fork. We crunched through the brown leaf litter that covers the hillside, and although Daisy bounded up the hill without a pause, I had to take careful steps so I wouldn't slide, and grab small trees occasionally to pull myself up. Boulders large and small are scattered about, some making ideal resting spots with a great winter view! From there, through naked trees, you can see across Meetinghouse Creek to the other high, rocky ridge. Also, through tall mountain laurels, you can see Lawson's Fork and across to the ridge beyond.

While resting I noticed a wildlife track leading up the hill at an angle, so I followed it. We topped the ridge and I was about to follow Daisy into the mountain laurel thicket when she stopped short and started barking like crazy at something I couldn't see. No telling what it was - I've seen her bark like this at strange dogs who've wandered into her territory, but also at a bag of garbage I put beside my car to be taken off. Anything "new" that she's not expecting. But I trusted that there was something there, so I turned around and headed back to the creek.

I discovered the tiny black mushrooms growing along this ridge. While investigating I brushed the leaves away to expose strange yellow stalks, the larger only 2"long. I read later in my field guide that they are Cordyceps capitata, common name Headlike Cordyceps, and they arise from an underground, truffle-like fungus. Interesting note: these are hallucinogenic mushrooms, used by shamans in Mexico for divining the future!

No luck in identifying the leaves without a flower to help. I'll keep an eye on them this spring.

Lawson's Fork - looking downstream

White Ash & Tulip Poplar Seeds

I headed out around noon today, with only a two hour window to walk Daisy and draw in my journal. The shade felt cold, but on the sunny side of the pipeline it felt warm. In fact, by the time I'd hiked to my favorite winter-afternoon spot, I was hot and had to take my coat off.

After twenty years of hiking out here, I've found the best place to sit this time of year is on the far side of Meetinghouse Creek, where a steep hill facing south rises from the creek. You can settle there between noon and about four o'clock and receive full winter sun rays, the north wind is blocked, and radiant heat rises from the earth around you. It is heavenly on a cold day like today. The only problem... today the warm sun also awakened a few ants, who proceeded to come pester me. They weren't fire ants, but it is still disconcerting to feel one walking on your skin.

I drew small things I found on the ground around me. Daisy slept nearby.

American Holly (Ilex americana)

Yesterday, a sunny and cool Sunday afternoon, I wandered down to the woods near Lawson's Fork where it runs under the old iron bridge on what used to be Old Thompson Road. No longer a road, it alternates between a red clay gully, a flat walkable path, and a barely discernible rut through young trees. Goldfinch, Chickadees and Titmice sang in the trees nearby, and crows called to each other in the distance beyond the river. Radu had disappeared on his usual adventure. Daisy was beside me, as well as Cookie, our skinny little calico cat who, at 12 years old, still enjoys hiking with us.

I had only two hours to draw because we were going to see the matinee showing of Avatar, so my goal was to find something simple to draw. Naturally, it wasn't long before my eye fell on a beautiful, old American Holly tree whose thick, gray trunk was knobbed, wrinkled, and rich with mosses and lichen. This is not simple, I thought. I inspected it closely. Not simple. Oh well, what could I do? I wanted to draw that tree.

I settled in the leaves at a distance so I could see the leaf canopy, but then realized the beauty of the trunk was lost at a distance. When I moved closer I realized that I would not be able to include both the trunk details and the canopy. A choice had to be made. Well, not really. It was the trunk that first attracted me anyway. Once I sat, the canopy was so far above my head I had to lean back to see it. Settling was complicated by Daisy, who drooled on my knee as she sat in front of me, hoping for a treat, as well as by Cookie, who made it clear she would like the drawing part better if I'd let her sit in my lap, on top of the journal. This is the usual pattern of things, so I dealt with my pets (got them interested in things other than me) and then went to work sketching the trunk.

Getting to this point had taken thirty minutes or more, but I finally relaxed and did my best to get lost in the tree for the time I had left. Birds continued to sing nearby. Various woodpeckers chirred and pecked in some of the old dead pines that had been killed by the pine beetle yet are still standing. The crow calls had become lazy - or at least not as insistent as they'd been earlier. Breezes stirred the tree tops and squirrels rattled the leaf litter in the distance - but no human-made sounds were heard while I was drawing.

Aster in Seed

Having been sick for over a week now it was more than wonderful to go outside in the cool but sunny afternoon. The breeze had died and the clouds drifted away enough for me to actually feel warm sitting on the south side of a steep hill with my face in the sun. Oohhwee! I could have taken a nap, that's for sure. Birds chipped and cheeped in the pines around me, Chickadees and Tufted Titmice, for sure, Kinglets too, I think. Crows passed noisily overhead. Radu and Daisy came to sit beside me. The sun sank before me. All in all a yummy afternoon.