Mushrooms, Agate, and More!

 Not more mushrooms, you say. Sorry, but they're something we get excited about due to their never ending variety and surprise appearances. I think you will be amazed, however,  by a huge agate that Gail found.  

As we pulled into the parking lot on November 20, at Ocean Beach, Gail remarked  that she had a strong feeling she was going to find a big agate.  We joked about it and I teased her that she probably jinxed herself.

About 20 minutes later she screamed and went running to this agate that was quite visible on a large slab of rock.  Good thing we were almost the first people on the beach!

On the drive home, we named it The Premonition Agate.

Later in the morning, we drove down to Florence and hiked across the dunes to the long beach there. This is the beach where in 1970 the highway department blew up a dead whale with dynamite, showering people and cars with large chunks of blubber over 800 feet away.  There are several YouTube videos of the debacle.

Back to the agate.  You can appreciate its translucence by back lighting it with a flashlight in the dark.

Most agates form inside of pockets in lava.  Sometimes the agate forming minerals run out before the pocket is filled, leaving a hollow center like a geode.

Below are some fungi photos taken over the past month.

This is not a fungi photo, but Gail deep cleaning behind the stove.  We have been painting the interior of the house this past month, and have now finished the living room, dining room, and kitchen.  This project keeps opening a new can of worms with every new wall we paint.  We got rid of four satellite stereo speakers that looked dorky, and I ran new cable under the house to the living room wall cabinets where I put in new bookshelf speakers.  The sound quality is much improved!

Amanita muscaria or fly agaric is beautiful, but toxic.

This is a developing one, before its cap spreads out.

This is foam churned up during a storm the previous night.  November 26.

There were a number of these little worm like animals on the sand.  I'm waiting to see if anyone on iNaturalist can identify it.  

Note: I just got an iNaturalist suggestion of sea cucumber.  I think that is correct after looking at other images.

The big leaf maple as seen from our back deck.  We love its form and its changes through the seasons. It is an old tree, and lost its largest trunk just a few weeks after we moved in.  We hope the rest remains for many more years.

Heading Towards Winter

 November started out with some glorious fall days, sunny, with splashes of yellow and red foliage.  That has shifted dramatically to barren trees and rainy days.  We are taking advantage of the pandemic and wet weather to paint the inside (of course) of our home.  The following are some photos of the transition (ooh, that's a loaded word these days!)

Looking up the river from our big spruce tree on November 2nd.

Looking through our blueberry bushes.

On October 28, we waded across the river, climbed the steep bank, and hiked up the mountainside that is quite inaccessible.  Our goal was to explore and hopefully find some chanterelles. These delicate mushrooms are not chanterelles.

The mountainside was quite steep.  We followed an elk trail most of the way.

 

Looking at the back of our home from the other side of the river.

We did find numerous patches of chanterelles, and picked enough for a couple meals.

 

Daisy likes to play keep-away with a tennis ball.  October 29.

She also sleeps on her bed in this amusing position.

Here are some of our curious neighbors.

In October, I remade these three elevated planter boxes out of cedar.  I replanted dozens of daffodil bulbs, and will find some other flowering plants to put in in the spring.

What is this, you may ask?  Well, Gail wanted a picture holder for her Denali art piece. I modified a rake, welded on some supports, and sprayed it black to come up with this.

Voila!

November 13, after a night of 4 inches of rain.  We have had over 12 inches of rain so far this month.  The nice thing about rainy weather is that it is usually a lot warmer at night than when it is clear.

The mighty Yachats awakens.

You don't want to be walking in the woods when it's windy around here.  This is on our almost daily 5300 hike from the house.

Our pandemic project is underway. We have completed painting the living room, and have moved onto the dining and kitchen area.  The color is from my brother Sherwin's collection and is called hopsack. I read that paint sales are way up due to the pandemic.  

Well, that brings us up to date.  I hope everyone is well, both physically and emotionally. I sincerely wish that we all live to see the fall of Trumpism. 

Trail Cam Happenings

 

I noticed matted trails in the grass leading up the bank at our Baboon Beach. I placed the camera at the spot and was surprised to see one or more nutria going up and down the bank and swimming in the river.

Nutria are native to South America, but were brought to North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries to be farmed for their fur.  This didn't turn out to be profitable, and many nutria escaped or were released into the wild.  They are destructive to river banks and marsh areas.  In Louisiana, nutria have been known to chew through tires and house siding.  Nutria are usually about 7 to 15 pounds, but have weighed up to 37 pounds.  They have recently been a menu item in Russia as part of the localvore movement and as a "foodie" craze.  I think we will gladly pass on eating these rat-like creatures!

This bobcat is zeroing in on a rabbit. You can see the rabbit's glowing eye off in the dark.  The bobcat apparently missed the rabbit as it showed up again about a half hour later. Lucky rabbit!