While looking for mushrooms last weekend up at Buttle Lake we also had the opportunity to do some weather watching. On the coast, the skies were blue and cloudless. Heading west from Campbell River towards the Buttle Lake corridor of Strathcona Provincial Park we were apprehensive about the look of the sky. Fortunately, though the skies were dramatic, we managed …
Vancouver Island
2010 West Coast Wildflower Calendar
Identify this British Columbian flower correctly and send me an email to be entered into a draw for a 2010 West Coast Wildflower Calendar. Contest closes November 30, 2009.And the winner is – Harri Harmaja of Finland who correctly identified the flower as Chamerion (Epilobium) latifolium or River Beauty. I’ve selected 12 of my wildflower images from Vancouver Island, British …
Delightful Amanitas
Gemmed Amanita | Amanita gemmata Fall on the West Coast can be spectacular when the sun makes an appearance and breaks up the days of grey clouds and rain. Such was the case on Monday this week and Jocie and I decided to make the best of it. We packed the children into the car and headed out to Ship’s …
Downtown Downy Woodpecker
A week ago I noticed a Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) working its way through the domestic Elderberry on our front lawn and hurried out to get a photograph. Unfortunately it had moved a little too high into the shrub and was beyond the effective reach of my lens to get a good photograph. Yesterday it returned, or at least I …
More Mysterious Mushrooms
Coral Fungus | Ramaria sp. – found growing alongside road in mixed Western Hemlock and Douglas Fir. After walking the Karst Creek Trail on Sunday we headed down to the Ralph River campsite in Strathcona Provincial Park to look for more mushrooms. The weather continued to be variable and we knew that we had a small window of opportunity to …
Magnificent Mushrooms!
Lactarius sp. (probably rubrilacteus). This was the only mushroom we were able to identify fairly conclusively. The latex of this mushroom was reddish in colour. Yesterday we took a family walk around the Karst Creek Trail in Strathcona Provincial Park. It’s a 1.2 km loop to a beautiful waterfall through an interesting karst, or limestone, landscape. Streams appear on the …
Orange Jelly
Keep your eyes open when you’re walking in the woods, mushroom season is upon us! Jocie and I found this fantastic jelly fungus growing on a fallen Douglas Fir while walking the Karst Creek Trail in Strathcona Provincial Park today. Commonly called Orange Jelly (Dacrymyces palmatus) and often mistaken as Witch’s Butter (Tremella lutescens), this delightful, bright orange fungus is …
A Change in Weather – BC Skywatch #1
Skyscape #1 This week we had a brief respite from the monotonous grey sky and rain that characterizes a typical coastal British Columbia winter. However, the blue skies did not last long and I captured this series of images as a major front moved in. I loved how dramatic these clouds were – enjoy! Skyscape #2 Skyscape #3 Skyscape #4
Marvelous Millipedes
I love turning over pieces of wood, bark, leaves, boards and rocks and discovering things lurking underneath. I found this millipede under an old rotting board at my mother-in-law’s house up at Miracle Beach. I’m unsure what species it is but have fairly confidently narrowed down the Order to Julida and Family to Julidae. Being no millipede expert, I’m humble …
Copperbush
Copperbush | Elliottia pyroliflora showing new buds Yesterday was a brilliantly sunny day so I decided that a quick trip up to Paradise Meadows was in order. I don’t usually go up to the Meadows at this time of year – it’s the transition time between summer and fall hiking, botanizing, and birding and winter cross-country skiing. At Paradise Meadows …