The great orange hunter was already on the prowl when Pook and I began our daily hike. We made it a fair ways out back and was scanning the corn field for deer when an orange streak passed me and then froze on Pook’s flank. Stewy had joined us.

We advanced to the stone wall. Pook was looking to go farther, I was looking for moss or lichens and Stewy was looking for anything that moved.

Pook got what she was looking for, it was her walk after all. Unfortunately for her, with Stewy along the hike would have to be cut short. We would go no further than the upper section of the corn field. I didn’t want to lead Stewy too far away from home. Cats are too easily distracted and I didn’t want to searching the woods looking for him when (not if) he got sidetracked. Pookey would have to get her fill of sniffing around in the corn stubble. Stewy lost interest quickly, he couldn’t see what the dog was so excited about.

While I stood waiting for the dog, Stewy resumed his search in the tree line at the edge of the field. It only took him a minute to find someone to play with. He had caught a mouse and had already taught it to play dead before I could get there.

The mouse was fine. It figured playing dead was the best survival tactic and in a way the mouse was correct. If it didn’t move Stewy might lose interest in playing tag. What the mouse didn’t consider was Stewy thinking the break in play must mean it was time for lunch. mmmm mouse

I took pity on the mouse. It wasn’t anywhere near the house and was minding it’s own business when we came along. Stewy wasn’t too displeased when I picked him up and carried him away from his prey. Like I said, cats are easily distracted and he was off busy chasing a wind blown leaf as soon as I set him down. When I looked back the mouse was gone. I’m sure it felt a great sense of relief as it scampered away. Good thing the mouse wasn’t wearing pants.

These frosty looking mushrooms were found growing (dormant) on some maple firewood. They’re one of the most widely distrubted mushrooms in the world and can be found on every continent except Antarctica. My National Audubon Society Field guide to Mushrooms (north america) states their range extends from Maine south to Tennessee and west to North Dakota while the MushroomExpert.com only said they can be found from sea to shining sea. What their real range is in North America is still a mystery to me. All I know is they are up the wazoo around here, I find them on all sorts of dead hardwoods throughout the area.

Common Split Gill Mushroom – Schizophyllum commune

They look like tiny bracket / shelf mushrooms and can be found year round. They range in size from about a quarter inch to nearly 2 inches across. My field guides describe them as ‘hairy’ but I think they look more like frost crystals than anything else.

I’m not entirely sure if these are actually perennial mushrooms or not. They dry out when moistened they unroll their gills and begin shedding spores. I’m not sure if it’s a purly reactive response or they actually revive and produce new spores. I’ve read that they may remain dry for 50 years and still shed spores when moistened. The ones I found were dry and brittle the other day, after a day of rain they were soft and pliable.

A half inch specimen was sacrificed to get some scale.

The gills are more like folds that are split down the middle. I can see how the underside can be described as hairy.

I also read that these can be nasty. This fungus has been known to cause human mycosis in a few cases involving immunoincompetent people, especially children. In one case a child had fruiting bodies growing in her sinuses. And here I was worrying about the stuff growing between my toes.

…and now for something completely different to make us all feel better.

Yep, it snowed yesterday but it melted almost as fast as it came down. I sit by the window where the fuel oil filler pipes come out of the basement. Stewy has learned to perch on the filler cap and scratch the window screen when he wants to be let in. That’s better than Itty Bitty (see sidebar pic) who jumps up from the ground and clings to the screen.

Did I mention I need to get a new screen every spring?

…followed by deer and a Stewy ending.

Pileated Woodpecker – Dryocopus pileatus

A pair of Pileated Woodpeckers has claimed the woods in front of the house as part of their territory. They stay together year round defending their space so I’m guessing this is the same pair I saw last year. They’ve made several appearences this winter but this is the only decent photo I’ve been able to get so far. They are flighty and take off as soon as I step out the front door. I usually curse the Basswoods but since they’re attracting these woodpeckers I’m having a change of heart. I suspect their actual nesting / roosting site is in the woods across the road. Every time I’d disturbed them they headed in that direction. Too bad, the land there is posted and off limits to me. Pileated woodpeckers are about as big as they come, at least woodpecker wise in North America. If you’ve never seen one before their size will surprise you when you do. If you spot a OMGTABFW (oh my goodness that’s a big freaking woodpecker) it’s most likely to be a Pileated. I guess when my grandpa called me a little peckerhead he must have been thinking of the smaller sap sucker.

Down the road a group of deer were out in a hayfield. I was surprised to find so much of the snow melted the last day or so. I live in a wooded bowl on the north side of a hill and the sun doesn’t quite have the strength to melt snow at home yet.

The ice jam may have been flushed downriver but if you look between the trees you’ll see a few remains on the far shore.

Downtown Morley Traffic Jam
I just wanted to photograph the ice on the river bank but catching a Deere running down the road made the photo worth posting.

Stewy was waiting for me at the end of the driveway when I returned home. So was the snow.

My outing wasn’t over yet. Dog wanted to go for a hike and we took off out back. But that’s a subject for another post. I don’t want to mix my lichens and deer up.