True Nature Stories: Solstice Succotash

Day's End From Grandview Park

After I made up my mind this morning to stick with my usual urban hike-n-bike instead of driving up to Mt. Tamalpais, I didn't think I'd have anything to post today. And, well, if not for some very small white worms (sufferin' succotash, they were maggots!) that primed my shutter-pressing pump during the hike, I might not have.

As I watched the Earth rotate out of the sun's line of sight just minutes ago, I felt a little sense of renewal. I'm actually pretty excited to be at the winter solstice, the year's nadir, with nowhere to go now but brighter days. It's also a good time to be able to hold contradictory views simultaneously: brighter days ahead, but also much trepidation about the state of the world. Beauty and terror. I can only participate in a state of awe.

Solstice Sets & Spindrift

Months ago I discarded several pots of primrose that had long lost their luster, pouring them out beneath my hazel tree to add a bit of soil. Lately, a couple of them seem to have actually become rejuvenated, freed from the fetters of their former pots.

I circled one of the maggots (probably the larvae of fungus gnats rather than flies) in red, but you can see there are more. I'm guessing this is a big blocky Cortinarius that they are emerging from. I found this decaying little fruiting while hiking through the otherwise posh Forest Hill neighborhood.

I was interested to see that several of the maggots were fleeing their fungal birthplace, wriggling across terrain littered with pine needles and wood chips, and climbing the bark of this large tree (with what looks like an Amanita muscaria button at its base). Where were they going? I did not stick around long enough to find out, but they must be looking for a safe place to pupate.

I finished my walk and biked down to the beach, shooting toward the sun from right next to the Giant Camera. I looked at my watch and was surprised it was only 10:30 a.m. The light from this angle is sweet this time of year.

Surfing the Silvery Swells

Last year's storms toppled this tree into Metson Lake (see post from last February), and I have been wondering as I ride past it almost every day, whether the parks department is going to remove it. Given that it's now been there nearly a year, it's probably safe to assume that it is going to be left in place, not as an eyesore, but as habitat. It does make a nice perch for a preening Great Blue Heron.

Since I'd used a phone camera and a point-n-shoot for today's succotash, I wanted to add a frame or two from the DSLR as well. Thanks to the rain and wind we've had this week, the back yard hazel has lost nearly all of its leaves, making the tiny, ripening male catkins stand out on its bare branches.

The tiny red female flowers have not made an appearance yet, but I look forward to gathering pollen from a couple of hazels on Mt. Tam when the time is right. Hopefully I'll get some tasty hazelnuts next year.