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We decided to take a different path today. Normally, we just go out the front or back door and head out on one of seven or eight possible routes for our walk. This time, we drove two miles for new scenery.
This may be one of the last times we get to see the colors and leaves like this. Rain is forecast. That will bring down the leaves faster. It proved to be a gorgeous setting with these tall stately trees and brown, yellow, and orange colors.
Join us below the squiggle for more. Near the end of our walk, we got very excited about some large animal tracks in the mud and sand. Please add your own observations about what is going on in your backyard. Tell us where, if you don't mind.
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For the butterfly lovers, we offer this slightly out-of-focus image of a Meadow Fritillary. The little 1" thing would not cooperate with getting its picture taken. Every time I got set, it flew to another flower. |
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Frequently, we come across plants with galls of various sizes and shapes. This one was on a showy goldenrod. |
The large dark brown honey locust pods were lying around many areas. They are related to the pea plant. |
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Color changes in the birch leaves is progressing. These are front and back views of two leaves. The one on the right is backlit. Here is
more information on the chemistry.
A number of these were in a sunny patch. I believe it is a variety of the castor oil plant. These seed pods are quite well protected. Raw castor beans inside this pod are toxic due to the presence of ricin. Lethal dose in adults is considered to be four to eight seeds. Actual poisoning are relatively rare. |
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No walk would be complete without some regurgitated rodents. There were several different ones in this bunch. |
A patch of wild roses had many of these rose hips on the ends of the branches. |
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This 2' diameter log was on the north side of a hill always in shade. The shelf fungus had a good place to grow. Below are closer views of them. The one at bottom right is 1" across and in its early stages. I have no idea how quickly they grow. |
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The trees in this woods are often twisted and bent. This group seemed a good example. Other strange shapes are below. |
Near the end of our walk, we crossed a bridge over this stream. It goes by the name of Clear Creek. During the spring and early summer heavy rains, this turns into a deep and flooding river which is anything but clear.
We looked below in the sand and mud for animal tracks. What we saw got us very excited. It looked like there were cougar/mountain lion tracks all over. I quickly went down for some close pictures.
Once home, a careful search of other examples of known cougar tracks gradually convinced us that they were canine tracks. There are several clues clearly described in this web site. Canine tracks have claws that show. Cougar do not. Canine have a specific lobed pattern in the heel pad. These match those of canine and not cougar.
But, as you can see, our cougar friend has winked and wants us to keep looking. There have been sightings in the area this summer of live cougar. We may still find our evidence.