D. August Baertlein - Writer & Ruminator
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Turkey Tail Mushrooms, Moss, and Lichen, Oh My!

1/29/2020

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     My nature-nut niece Kira made me a pair of earrings out of Turkey Tail Mushrooms. Having no knowledge of this particular species of fungus (Trametes versicolor), my imagination went wild. First, I assumed that she was making a comment on my personality. She says she made herself some too, but seriously. She's something of a turkey herself. (My favorite sort, of course!)

     Then it occurred to me that she might have discovered my secret spy identity, and was providing me with an emergency suicide pill that I could wear in plain sight. But, as it turns out, these are medicinal mushrooms, not poisonous ones. They're packed with antioxidants and immune-boosting unpronounceables!


   (Photo credits clockwise from upper left: Gilbert Trimblay, Steven Knight, Constantin Jurcut, and Thomas Pate. Thanks, guys!)

     I have no personal photos of Turkey Tail Mushrooms in the wild, so I grabbed these from freephotos.com. I can't swear they're all Turkey Tails, and, personally, I wouldn't eat them without an expert guide's approval—like Kira, maybe. She's training at the Wilderness Awareness School, where they know their mushrooms, among other things.


 
     To finish with a little LOCAL color, above on the left is a gorgeous Prescott rock painted over with splotches of lichen. Don't ask me what kind. There are more than 15,000 species of lichen, and they're each actually two creatures—a symbiotic association of some sort of fungus plus either an alga or a cyanobacterium, depending on the species.

     On the right, some bright green moss has sidled up next to the lichen in a shady spot along the trail. As dry as it is here, I was surprised to find moss, but it seems quite happy when it finds a cool, damp place to grow.

​    Happy Hiking!
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Birds Finally Ate the Pyracantha Berries!

1/22/2020

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     The Western Bluebirds (above, below, and in January archive link), Spotted Towhees (photos in December archive link), and maybe some other species I couldn't identify finally gathered around our Pyracantha berries. The fruit hung on so long I wondered if it might be bad tasting or even poisonous.

     Apparently not. In fact, this Arizona State University Pyracantha sheet has a recipe for Pyracantha jelly. It also describes birds getting drunk on overripe berries, but this I did not see.


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     On January 16, I spotted these bluebirds in a feeding frenzy. Shortly after, we went away for a few days. By the time we got back, the bushes were picked clean. There are still Juniper berries about, and no snow covered the birds' normal feeding grounds, so I can only assume that once they discovered the berries they found them tasty enough.

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     It is puzzling that it took so long for the birds to show up. The fruit has been there in plain sight since at least October (above), when the berries were surrounded by red salvia blossoms, a hummingbird favorite.

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     And here they were well-preserved by an early December snow.

     Now they are gone until the bush blossoms again in late summer or fall. Or so I hope.


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Javalina or Collared Peccary (Not Actually Pigs)

1/14/2020

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     Despite the uncanny resemblance, Javalina are technically not related to "Old World pigs" (Suidae). Our desert critter, the Tayassy tajacu, actually belongs to the family Tayassuidae, or New World pigs. (Yeah, TMI. Sorry.)

     At this Arizona Sonora Desert Museum link you'll find a picture with a wee baby. (I don't care what anyone says. They're stinkin' cute!) Since they don't have a set breeding season, babies can show up any time, even during last winter's two-foot snow storm! Unfortunately, I've never managed to snap a baby picture.

     The Desert Museum link also has a button to play "a variety of Javalina sounds." But the smell... well, you have to be there. It's very skunk-like, and I'm not convinced I can tell the difference between skunk and peccary by smell alone. My mother can, though! What a nose she has!
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     I took the above video when a herd of about a dozen sauntered through last week. This fella' is grubbing around our yucca and small native plants (AKA weeds). S/he is probably digging up some juicy bugs and tubers. Javalina are primarily herbivores, but also enjoy carrion when they can find it, and a bit of tasty human trash when it presents itself.
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     Note the teeny tiny tusks in the photo above. Those teeth are actually bigger than they look. Some of the iStockPhotos in this link show more arresting views. (BTW, don't you love the delicate fringe of eyelashes over that bedroom eye?)

     Javalina don't attack humans, either to eat them (primarily herbivores, remember) or in defense. They're far more likely to run and hide when they see us. But they don't see very well, so it's best not to sneak up on them. Also, people who carry food out to them have on occasion been skewered by tusks and teeth. Another reason to just let them be wild.

     I blame my shortage of pictures on the fact that they blend into the underbrush so well, and that they're most active at night. (I do have several shapeless blobs in my nighttime photos.) So, here's a lovely video and some more information on the javalina or collared peccary at this Arizona Leisure link.

   Enjoy!
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Western Bluebirds

1/3/2020

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     These Western Bluebird beauties (Sialia mexicana) were a much-loved fixture at the Prescott birdbath in late fall and early winter. This photo is from November 18, 2019. According to The Firefly Forest, they are year-round residents in Northern Arizona, but I'm not seeing them much now. I'm sure this is partly because water more abundant with the recent rain and snow, and they don't need my little water supply.

​     They may also be scarce because---it's bloody winter! not my favorite season. Birds are out there, but they keep such a low profile I'm almost never able to identify them, let alone catch a photo.

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     This bluebird angel took flight in early November also.
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     This hole (likely created by a woodpecker) in a cottonwood tree outside our window in Lake Hughes, California, was home for bluebirds several springs running. (The photos above and below were taken April 1, 2016.) It was wonderful to see parents darting in and out caring for their eggs. Not so wonderful when a crow slipped in and snatched them. The circle of life, I guess.


     Desert USA has wonderful detailed information on Western Bluebird, including that they are probably surviving on juniper and mistletoe berries this time of year, but feed themselves and their hatchlings primarily on insects in the spring.

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     Here's another Prescott bird for comparison. Apparently, they may or may not migrate---north/south, or locally between elevations. Though Arizona and California birds look identical to me, I doubt any individuals moved with us. 😉 I'm sure that I'm far more fascinated by them than they are by me. 

​     Seen any good birds lately?

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    Author

    I made a career of writing software by day while scribbling stories by night, a combo made even odder by the fact that I started my adult life as a marine biologist/geneticist. 

    I got my Ph.D. ever so long ago, but I still love science, especially the biological variety. Now I write SciFi and Fantasy that's full of it.  Science, I mean.


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