January Urban Nature Walk at Blakely Hoar Nature Sanctuary plus meeting LJ friends part whatever

[urbpan]

This time around mizdarkgirl suggested that we walk in the Blakely Hoar Nature Sanctuary in Brookline. We had twice as many people participating as we did January 2014. I took about a million photos, of which I've posted 20 or so:



One of the notable features of this little swamp, surrounded by multi-family residences, is this grove of ancient hemlocks. These are mostly unmarred by the hemlock woolly adelgid. These giants must be several hundred years old.


It's nice to have a green canopy in the depths of winter.


Soon we wandered off-trail and found ourselves in Wetherbee Woods, in Boston. There should be a trail and a boardwalk here but the recession hit a few years back and the resources haven't been put in yet.


Some rock shield lichen Xanthoparmelia sp. grows on the back of the commemorative stone.


A lot of the places we wandered and walked were swamps covered in ice and snow, that would have been practically impassible in warmer months.


Astonishingly, dedhamoutdoors found a live spider out in the open, on a sapling. I think this is probably a long-jawed orbweaver, maybe Tetragnatha sp.


These little redheaded lichens are probably "lipstick powderhorn" Cladonia macilenta, according to my new lichen field guide.


An unknown polypore and a jelly (perhaps witch's butter Tremella mesenterica) share space on some dead alder.


I suspect this dead wood is an old hemlock, which would mean what looks like witch's butter is actually orange tree brain Dacrymyces palmatus.


A toothed polypore enjoys the moisture of the melting snow.


The decorticated (barkless) surface of this dead tree shows both the bootlaces of a honey mushroom fungus infestation, as well as the predations of a boring beetle.


This toothed polypore--possibly Trichaptum biforme--appears to be a recent fruiting, releasing spores into the wintry air.


The same mushrooms, seen from below.


In a few places we saw these claw marks on smooth bark. Squirrel, or raccoon?

Comments

[urb-banal.livejournal.com]

I love the names of some: what looks like witch's butter is actually orange tree brain Dacrymyces palmatus.

How often do you get to say something like that in a conversation? Love it!

Question: Is "witch's butter" something you can actually eat, I mean, if you're not a witch?

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Yes you can use it in soups! (other kinds of cooking basically make it disappear)