“Early April Polypore”
“It is strange how new and unexpected conditions bring out unguessed ability to meet them.”
― Edgar Rice Burroughs
Many-coloured Polypore, to be more precise.
Finally, after several weeks, waiting for the ice to come off the trails and for some of the muck to dry up, I hit the trails today. My goal was to find some sign of new life. I was let down on that front, much of the forest floor was littered with a solid mat of compressed leaves.
Let me explain that statement. Due to the nature of our snowfalls, here in southern Ontario, the leaves, which, in recent years, have been exposed to the air by mid-March, were completely flattened and compressed, something I have not seen in a few years. Also, many of the taller, stiffer stemmed weeds, like goldenrod, had also been flattened down by the snow load, with only a few singular stems remaining erect.
The landscape reminded me the land has been dormant and is slowly awakening from its long rest. It is taking its time. Yet, through the gray landscape, some surprising finds revealed themselves, such as this fungus, growing on a trailside log. Unlike much of the bleached, winter-worn trees and plants, this polypore showed signs of live and colour, despite pockets of ice within the fungus itself. Look into the ‘cups’ of the fungus, especially just right of centre, and you will see a small pocket of frozen water. The polypore’s ability to weather the winter and look fresh today really surprised me.
The colour is what caught me attention. Everything else was weather-worn and bleached, even the beech trees, which held onto many of their leaves through the winter in bright golds and oranges, had eventually faded to dull, ghostly yellows (more on that in my next post).
So, I was not disappointed, I did find signs of new life, just not in ways I expected.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/50 sec, f/16.0, ISO 200
Hi Resolution image on 500px
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Cool 🙂 Do you hunt & eat Morrels ❓
Absolutely. I came across them during my hikes, around the May timeframe. I’ve filled my camera bag a few times 🙂
🙂 luv it when that happens 🍄
What a great shot and a beautifully worded post. Exactly this going on up here on South Georgian Bay.
Thank you.
Very beautiful, Ed. Great post.
Thank you
What a beauty
Loving the texture.
We didn’t have the amount of snow you did, so I still have a bit of ‘texture’ to look at in my landscape. Granted, it’s all just shades of brown 😜 I’m eagerly awaiting some color!
Excellent image. I’ve always wondered what those things were called. We have quite a few sawn logs that they have been growing on for the past couple of years.
Sometime they are called Hen-Tails as well
Great photos
Thank you