PLANT A SEED WATCH IT GROW.

 Morel mushrooms are a fungus.  They're not like  plants, that you can start as a seed, stand back and watch them grow.





 While there are some who are blessed to have been able to watch the progress of the morel in its growth cycle, most of us are left to wonder.

It is believed and proven by most that the morel fungus will sprout (so-to-speak) as any other living organism and with the proper nurturing from Mother Nature, it will proceed in a progressive growth pattern.

Last weekend for "Mothers Day".   Our son Beau made the 12 hour drive from Denver back to Iowa to surprise his mother.  And he certainly did.



I'm proud  to say that Susie and I did a pretty darn good job of " Nurturing " the young man he has become.

 After all the tears of joy and the Mothers Day breakfast of tortillas, scrambled eggs, morels, bacon, pepper jack cheese and fruit,

Beau and I several forages into the timber to load up on some shrooms while he was back.

 Beaus girlfriend Kayla and Susie got to get in on the harvesting as well.

 In an undisclosed location.

 With proper nurturing every thing can reach its full potential.

 Susie got creative with fresh mushrooms and our leftovers of steak, asparagus, mashed potatoes  and cherry tomatoes.

I think we've got a winner here and

I know we've got a winner with our son.

A Look At The Hive Enterance

A big part of having bees is observe them at work. To watch them raise their young, collect nectar and build their hives.  On the one hand, the honey bees are tucked away in their hives, hidden from view unless you open up the hive and take a peak.   But if your interested here are some of the things you can see at the hive entrance. 

April until mid-May, there is little activity even in strong colonies except perhaps during the early part of the afternoon on days favorable to harvest.  You should see large bodied Drones, at the hive entrance along Worker bees laden with pollen.

Beekeepers can become better at 'knowing what is going on with their bees' with less interference.
 
 "The master accomplishes more and more by doing less and less until finally he accomplishes everything by doing nothing." --Laozi, Tao Te Ching

WHAT DO YOU NOTICE WHEN YOUR ON A HIKE?

 The sky's reflection off of the pond.

 The stream working its way down the valley

 The dry stream bed and the limestone rock shelf

 The purple phlox growing out in the timber.

 The shed antler along the deer trail.

The Flammulina velutipes, also known as the winter mushroom, velvet stem, velvet foot, enoki or enokitake  by the shed antler.

yes, I eat these.
It's better than coming home with an empty-bag.

 But not these...

or this one...



















oh, I'll eat those too.

FILLING A NICHE AND A CAVITY.

 Cool damp weather gave way to sunshine and our yard is filled with pockets of beauty. 
So many of our spring plants are ready to bust open and the bees are ready to go. 

 Out in the timber new mushrooms are popping up each and every day.  Which makes it hard to spend time in the yard hulling wood chips, tilling, planting, mulching and mowing.   



But, the end result is so rewarding when you take the time to slow down and enjoy it.

 This little fox squirrel scampering around on this old oak snag, kept his eyes on me as I poked around his timber.


I've talked in the past about the importance of these old snags that are left behind after the mature trees have been harvested.   


Standing dead trees, or snags, may appear to be useless, even eyesores, but they are important components of wildlife habitat and frequently in short supply.

 On a sheer bluff overlooking the Mississippi River we've got a nesting box that has been there for two years now.  As I drove by the other day I noticed a smaller bird chasing an eagle.

During the entire nesting season, the adult Peregrine Falcons are very territorial. They dive and chase after almost anything that comes close to their young, including birds and other raptors much bigger than they are! - See more at: http://www.peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/Peregrine_Falcon#sthash.F1ZZNZSv.dpuf

During the entire nesting season, the adult Peregrine Falcons are very territorial. They dive and chase after almost anything that comes close to their young, including birds and other raptors much bigger than they are! - See more at: http://www.peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/Peregrine_Falcon#sthash.F1ZZNZSv.dpuf

During the entire nesting season, the adult Peregrine Falcons are very territorial. They dive and chase after almost anything that comes close to their young, including birds and other raptors much bigger than they are! - See more at: http://www.peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/Peregrine_Falcon#sthash.F1ZZNZSv.dpuf

During the nesting season, the adult Peregrines are very territorial.  They dive and chase after almost anything that comes close to their young, even an Eagle that's much bigger than they are!

I hope that's what I saw!


















Along the trout stream wooden hides created more habitat in streams for adult trout, particularly overhead cover where the fish could hide during the day to escape from winged predators.


Plus stocking streams that contained already naturally reproducing trout populations actually hurt those populations and the fishing.

  Anytime I can save an old fallen cavity that on the floor of the timber I do.   Weather the opening is large or small.  Some one will set up a nets in them.

Several of the birds that nest in cavities tend to be resident species an are more likely to locate  these homes. We've been watching a pair of chickadees  nesting in this one. 

LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE BUT FINE TUNE FOR THE DETAILS.

 Just as we need to see with both of our eyes in order to capture all of the nuances of an image, we need to gather information from both "big picture" and "detail" perspectives in order to fully understand.




 Like a puzzle, you don't get the "whole picture" until you have all the pieces.

 Right now the moss is emerald green, lush and fresh with new growth.

Often times when I'm in the timber I see some rather large terrestrial snails  and there are not a lot of good guide books for identifying land snails





But I'm going with the
Striped whitelip

This species is also known as Helix multilineata,

Here's an older shell without the snail    The Iowa Pleistocene snail is an endangered species.
These snails live in the leaf litter of special cool and moist hillsides called algific talus slopes. Cool air and water, from underground ice, flow out of cracks in the slopes and keep the ground temperatures below 50 degrees F in summer and above 14 degrees F in winter.  I keep looking but I have yet to find one.


















It's always tough to find that first mushroom of the year. 

 

but once you've got them in your sites and you put a knife by them there easy to spot.











When you take the time to focus on the smaller details thing just seem to become more clear.




I spent the next fifteen minutes trying to track down a bird which was calling.  Just to see a Cat Bird, high in a tree top.   Then just a few minutes later I was rewarded with seeing a Scarlet Tanager.






Look beyond the obvious.

Discreet Beach Combing.

 Six hive installed on the Iowa side and two across the river in Wisconsin.
Having to check in on the bees progress gives Susie and I the opportunity to visit Lauren, Debbie and Steve a little more often.

Happy EASTER  !!

 We got the garden tilled with a tator trough ready for potatoes.

 It's been a long time coming but I got the cone built for the "Moon Hawk" sculpture.   Ace was a good helper.

 I made it out to the timber for a hike with the dogs.





No mushrooms but I found this little shed  It made my day!





Next time I'm going shed hunting I hope to find some morels.

Saturday we ran into Milwaukee to make some tough decision for the future health care of Kendo.

The girls love him and want nothing but the best for him.

I am that stone of simple beauty in silence I sit and wait....







To decompress, a trip to Lake Michigan always helps.  No matter, how crappy the weather is . 



A little discreet beach combing early in the morning with Easterly winds does wonders for the body and soul!
















Looks like we're having asparagus for supper this evening!



































Yep!

 I was right,  yum!

BEES ARE IN!

 Friday evening B0B Playtex and I cruzed into CR to the Indian Creek nature center to pick-up our bee packages, 14 all together.




That barely put a dent in the horse trailer load of bees that Doug brings to the Nature Center in mid to late April from California.

 Checking out the Queen Bee before we uncork her to introduce her to the hive.

The guy are eager to learn about how to set up a hive and install a package this was my third of six for the day.

I was interested in checking out their sugar shack.

It was very comfortable, well planned  and high tec.

The girls were all fired up to check out the new kids on the block.  The girls were named after jazz singers and the little boys were named after guys from Starwars.

Looking forward to some fresh chèvre  in the future.

The next package went out to Todds.  I was really impressed with his cabin set up.

And what a great place for bees.




You can see the hive at the lower end of the garden to the right of the post just under the cedar trees.

The urban bees have a great home too and what good timing.  After last night rain shower Spring is ready to burst and the bees are ready!

What a great back yard to sit back and enjoy the bees and a beverage.



I finished up the day by setting up my hive at home and wouldn't ya know it...  I got stung right under the eye.   Oh well.  

Some scientific studies have shown that bee stings may have medicinal benefits.  It is a fairly accepted fact that bee venom possesses anti-inflammatory properties.