Tag Archives: lichen

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After one of our recent storms, Wendy Bailey found this branch down in her garden. It's beautifully decorated with Lichens and Turkey Tails.

Belly Button Hedgehogs are up, as are Winter Chanterelles. I've had a report that Sweet Tooth Hedgehogs are appearing too. And the first Black Trumpets. Here is a photo by Eric Kritz taken a few years ago of my friend, Rachel Kritz, holding a Sweet Tooth Hedgehog, a delicious edible mushroom.

And here Rick shows you the difference between a huge Sweettooth and the smaller Belly Buttons.

Thanks to Wendy and Eric for allowing me to share their photos with you here. Happy foraging!

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Anna's Hummingbirds nest early, as early as January. They build the most exquisite nests out of spider webs, lichen and small twigs. Jenny and John Biglow found this hummingbird nest with two babies inside. Can you spot them?

Siegfried Matull found an occupied nest too. Here's the mother hummingbird sitting on the nest.

And when the female took off for a moment, Siegfried got a photo of her eggs. Look how perfect the nest is.

Thanks to Jenny and Siegfried for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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Lichens grow where there is little or no air pollution so it's no wonder many different kinds of lichen can be found growing on the Mendonoma Coast. Many people think lichen is detrimental to trees, like mistletoe, but they are mistaken. Lichen is actually beneficial. A fun place to learn about lichen can be found via this link: http://ocid.nacse.org/lichenland/ You will learn lichen is not just one organism but two and in some cases three. Amazing!

This photo is of fruticose lichen, which fell out of a tree on Kathy DiMaio's property on the Gualala ridge. Isn't it a thing of beauty?

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A group of delicate five-petaled Windflowers survived the rains to bloom in the sunshine today. They are also called Wood Anemone and are members of the Buttercup family. I once touched one and it fell apart! So I am careful to admire them from a distance. In the bottom of the picture is a piece of lichen that fell out of a tree during a recent storm. It feels like spring is finally here on the Mendocino Coast today.