Weekly Wanderings: August 2

Monday, August 2, 2021

August 2

The sky is clear with temperatures in the mid 60’s as I start my morning hike at Lumberjack Park nature trail, accompanied by our 6-month-old Golden Doodle named Riley. After heading north over the boardwalk, we turn east along Mud Creek where I spot small yellow blossoms of Agrimony and white blossom clusters of Snakeroot. Snakeroot gains its common name from early American settlers, who incorrectly believed that the plant's rhizomes could treat snakebites. The plant is now known to be poisonous. Pausing on the footbridge over Mud Creek, I first look upstream toward the rising sun and then downstream as it nears its confluence with the Pine River. Moving through a stand of tall pines, I come upon a 3-inch Waxcap mushroom and a 5-inch Boletes mushroom. Boletes, also known as porcini mushrooms, are a large species of mushroom that contain many edible types and no deadly ones. Fortunately, identifying an edible bolete isn’t hard. First-of-all, they lack gills. Instead, they have a solid, spongy underside that looks very different from a typical field mushroom. Another thing is they grow in tandem with certain species of trees, such as oak, and only grow around their roots. Therefore, they’re found near trees, not in open fields. field for boletes. Reaching the river’s edge, I pause to watch the water flow gently past while mosquitoes swarm around the camera. Heading west along a steep bank, I stop to investigate what appears to be a pile of scat. However, it turns out to be a never-before-seen fungus called Elfin Saddle. Continuing to the open field near the west trailhead, my attention draws toward blossoms of the invasive Spotted Knapweed and seeds of Virginia Stickseed. In a few weeks this plant will be very aggravating to us hikers. Those tiny green balls are solidly attached to the stems right now but soon they’ll dry out and grab onto clothes and your dog if you brush past the plant. Nearby, I notice blossoms of White Campion that are closed during the day. Toward evening they increase their nectar production and become more fragrant to attract certain nocturnal moths and butterflies. In England, White Campion is sometime called Grave Flower or Flower of the Dead because it often grows in graveyards. Turning around, we head east on the White Pine trail where I spot tiny white blossoms of Flowering Spurge as well as a 3-inch Honey Mushroom that looks like a fried egg. Just ahead, I watch an Ebony Jewelwing damselfly land on a leaf to rest. Back across the boardwalk, we turn east again toward the morning sun before reaching the car at the south trailhead.