Morning Drive

 

Drakes Estero

I needed a little break from my urban hike-n-bike routine today, so I drove out to Point Reyes to take in the sunrise. It was high tide as the sun came up, but my plan to photograph the Giacomini Marsh was thwarted by fog over Tomales Bay. I continued out Sir Francis Drake and took in the estero as the approaching dawn gradually brought the landscape to life. 

Up next, I thought I might look for mushrooms on Mt. Vision, but I quickly realized I wasn't in the mood for spending a lot of time scrounging around in the woods and possibly coming up empty. I did see a mushroom-picker with a bucket on his back, but I didn't get a chance to ask if he'd scored any porcini.

Meanwhile, the lion's manes (not bear's heads, as I originally thought) were calling from Mt. Tam, so I drove up to Rock Spring and hiked down the trail to collect them and snap a couple photos with the DSLR. The mystery fungus had grown out its "mane," so I collected that one too, since lion's mane is supposed to be really tasty. Unfortunately, although it cooked up nicely and looked great on a dinner plate, the flavor was mild and uninteresting. 

Vertical Estero

Mt. Vision in fog, with sun breaking through.

Pond near the top of Mt. Vision Road.

View toward Point Reyes and Chimney Rock.

Roadside gardens near Inverness.

Pearly Web

Sunny Redwood Forest

Redwood Forest Floor

Lion's Mane

Close-up view of the spines.

Fall Color

I'm sure this slime mold wasn't sporulating when my wife and I hiked down the Cataract Trail two days ago. It would have been impossible to miss. 

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See Ya, Summery Fall

Lion's Mane Fungus
(Hericium erinaceus)

My wife and I took a little hike in the rain on Mt. Tam today, and I'm pretty sure the mystery fungus whose pix I've posted earlier is going to turn into one of these, a lion's mane fungus. Having just been there a few days ago, when everything was still dry, I had no expectation of seeing so much fungi on today's hike (it wasn't raining at all in San Francisco). All I had was my phone camera, and of course I had no wax paper bags for collecting. However, it was such a pleasure to see mushrooms again that I didn't want to disturb anything by picking them.

I suspect these and other wood-sprouters were honey mushrooms, and later we would find a few giant fruitings that left no room for doubt.

There were many colorful russula patches like these among fallen bay leaves.

The big-leaf maples along Cataract Creek were looking about as good as they get.

I wasn't picking anything, or even looking under caps, so I won't even guess what this guy is.

Another juicy lion's mane.

Probably more honey mushrooms.

This was part of one of two patches of coccoli (Amanita calyptroderma) we found this morning. It was interesting to see so much development in the caps with hardly any stalk. 

Honey Patch

Dyer's Polypore

Again, I didn't look at the gills, so I'm not sure, but I suspect this is just a crazy-big lepiota, and not the prince (Agaricus augustus).

A pool along Cataract Creek at Laurel Dell.

Fresh greens and fading yellows next to a mostly dry Cataract Creek.

One of many grisettes (probably Amanita pachycolea) that we found in several places.

Two Short Clips from the Rainy Forest

* * *

Summery Fall

 

Canada Geese in Coyote Creek

I've been thinking about making the long drive up to the Klamath Basin to immerse myself in millions of geese who fill the air with incessant honking and countless fluttering wings rising up like a thunderous applause, but for now I'll settle for eleven geese silently floating past Mt. Tamalpais.

It was amazingly sunny and warm today and felt more like summer than fall, although I was pleasantly surprised to find a few little fruitings of fungi. They were pretty dried out, but were a tantalizing taste of what the rains will bring.

The new trail cam location was a dud, so I moved the cams once again. When I returned to Rock Spring there was a group of CalFire and other folks at the picnic table near my bike. They'd been doing more prescribed burns. We noticed a lot of dark smoke out over the ocean that didn't seem to make sense. Where was it coming from? One guy said there's another burn going on at China Camp State Park, but it still didn't make sense until I got down the mountain a ways and could see that, sure enough, the smoke was blowing down from there and then getting whooshed out through the Golden Gate.

Just another gorgeous day for a bike ride on Mt. Tam. 

The California fuchsia are still going strong.

When this guy fluttered past me the tops of its wings seemed more intricately patterned than a cabbage white, but it never spread its wings after it landed, so I'm not sure what this is.

Just a few steps farther along, a more indulgent painted lady soaked up the sun on the Cataract Trail.

This thing has gotten a little bigger (since 10/26), but I'm still not sure if it's going to turn into anything recognizeable. It's still quite spongy, so I assume it's still growing into ... something.

A few dried russulas thought it was time to hop to it, only to have Mother Nature deliver a bit of a fake-out.

This cute littel amanita has barely cleared its universal veil. Maybe some rain will come this weekend and get things going again.

I would have thought this tipped-over madrone with the dead crown was all done with life, but the brand new leaves say otherwise. I assume this new growth is sprouting from the original tree's burl, and not from a berry that fell down in there and sprouted.

First I found the band-tailed pigeon feather, then I saw a couple of nearby madrone berries that the birds didn't get at feeding time.

California giant salamander hanging out on a rock in a relatively deep and quiet pool.

Another of those white butterflies fluttered past me and drew me out into a meadow where I found a lot of pushed-down grass and some relatively fresh deer bones. 

Smoke from a prescribed burn blows out to sea.

Black-necked stilt along Coyote Creek.

Looking very stilty!

This large and odd-looking ship is the vehicle carrier Shanghai Highway, most recently from Incheon, Korea, and before that -- where else but Shanghai, China.

The container ship YM Travel was close behind, heading for Oakland. VesselFinder doesn't show its other recent port calls.

Just down the way from the large No Dancing sign on Golden Gate Park's JFK Promenade, some cool new sculptures were being set up as I passed through on my way home.

Some kids nearby were hoping the Gillie and Marc sculptures were made of chocolate.

* * *

For the Birds

 

Skulking Red-shouldered Hawk Being Scolded by a Scrub Jay

The Silent Partner Nearby
(being ignored by the jay)

Speckled Rocks

Pelicans & Cormorants

Having Their Day In The Sun

Pelicans Bathing at Sutro Baths

Pelicans & (Mostly) Heermann's Gulls

* * *

The Clear Light

 

Mt. Tamalpais Reflection at High Tide, Richardson Bay

I kind of felt like hanging out around home yesterday, but it was too nice a day to skip my Thursday ride up to Mt. Tam. 

I was surprised how high the tide was (six feet) when I reached the bay along the north end of Sausalito. The water was almost up to the bike path. A couple of killdeer were foraging between the path and the bay, relatively new arrivals. The greater yellowlegs and black-necked stilts were still around too. Three guys were casting their fishing poles onto the mirrored surface of the water. On the way home I stopped when I saw the water become disturbed near the shore, wondering if a tiburon had chased its prey into the shallows, but eventually a sea lion popped its head up.

I used to bring snacks from home on these rides. I'd usually eat them beneath the big oaks at Rock Spring or out along West Ridgecrest to take in the expansive view. But last week I didn't have anything to bring, so I stopped at The Good Earth for a cheese croissant, which turned out to be such a delicious and filling treat that I did it again this week.

It was windy and a little chilly up on the mountain, so I took a short hike, ate my croissant, placed the trail cams in a new location, then turned around to head home. It was warm again by the time I got back down to Tam Junction.

Reflections Near Coyote Creek

Clear view to the Farallons, with turkey vultures soaring in the wind.

Things don't usually change much in a week, but this time a large area around Rock Spring had been burned. It's been a while since I last saw signs of prescribed burns out there, and I've never seen such a large swath of grassland get treated.

I'm looking forward to seeing what this fungal mass matures into.

A red admiral soaks up the sun while perched on the lichen-crusted bark of a Douglas fir.

A killdeer forages along Richardson Bay.

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