Another mushroom discovered on my dog walk. The scientific name of this one is Coprinus comatus (coprinus means “of dung” and comatus means “hairy”). This mushroom is also known as the “shaggy inky cap.” It is edible in the “shaggy” white phase, but within 24 hours it digests itself and becomes the inedible “inky” stage…. Read more »
Science
Deer Eating Mulberries
I was sitting at my kitchen table when I saw this small buck in our back yard, eating mulberries off the tree.
Dobsonflies and Dragonflies
I found this insect crawling on the ground near the Mississippi River. It was about four inches long. I had never seen one of these before. My research showed that it was a dobsonfly larvae which would normally be underwater. Maybe a bird plucked it out of the water and dropped it. Anyway, a dobsonfly… Read more »
Polyphemus Moth
While walking our dog, Webster, I saw this moth resting on a sidewalk. Amazing the things you can see in your own neighborhood (but you will miss them if you’re looking at your phone). I posted a photo of a luna moth coccoon and pupa in August 2022. I found it in the same area… Read more »
Fungus Schmungus #5
I saw this turquoise colored mushroom on a dead oak leaf in early spring. I looked it up and it is called the green elfcup (scientific name chlorociboria aeruginascens). Normally, it is found on dead trees and sticks. Don’t eat it. Very poisonous. Despite the scientific name the blue-green coloring does not come from chlorophyll… Read more »
Summer Hail Storm
We recently had bad weather with and I remembered that I had taken this video of large chunks of hail falling into a swimming pool last summer, making the water dance.
Whoot! A Juvenile Barred Owl
My cousin, Natalie Maxwell McDonald, took this photo of a juvenile barred owl. You can just barely see the stripes under the owl’s neck and on the back. In fhe first photo, notice how camouflaged the bird is.
Mountain Chickadee
This is artwork by Dorothia Rohner, author/illustrator of “A Wish for Twins” and author of “I am Goose!” She drew this picture while visiting Montana.
Barred Owl
My son, Levi and his fiance, Sabrina, have a 2023 project where they are going to photograph every bird native to Iowa. They got this beautiful picture of a barred owl. The barred owl makes many different sounds, but the bird’s most recognizable call has four hoots repeated twice and sounds like “Who cooks for… Read more »
Alligator
I held an alligator for the first time while in Florida. His belly was as soft as a baby. Notice his rounded snout. Alligator snouts are round on the end and their bottom teeth don’t stick out of their mouth. Crocodiles have v-shaped snouts and their bottom teeth stick out.
Shelley Jones Clark
