wordsfromanneli

October 12, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 33 Comments

Polly the Bore

This fungus is called phaeolus schweinitzii, or more commonly, Dyer’s polybore. It is also called velvet-top fungus, or pine dye polybore, or Polly, as I call it.

In my yard, it seems to come back every year in this same location, near the roots of a large fir tree that was felled several decades ago, and usually Polly has a “baby” nearby. It’s not a good fungus to have near your trees, as it will rot the roots and do a lot of damage to the tree.

The redeeming quality about Polly is that this fungus was used for making a dye to colour wool or other materials, hence the name Dyer’s polybore.

But definitely, do not try to eat it. Polly will make you very sick.

You can see the size of the fungus by comparing it to the fir cones nearby.

The photo above was taken a few days ago, but the ones below were taken last year in the same location. I thought it was interesting that it grew around blades of grass – or maybe the grass grew through the fungus. I’m not sure what the process was.

Last year, just like this year, a baby polybore was growing nearby.

Notice that the baby Polly in each case looks like its mother.

I wonder if Polly will show up again next fall.

September 24, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 46 Comments

Planning Ahead

Remember us?

We’re all grown up now and we’ve learned all about getting ready for winter.

The hazelnuts are falling off the trees and it’s important to get as many as possible and hide them away for the winter.

But Anneli has raked up a whole bunch of the leaves and the first hazelnuts that fell because they’re mostly the bad ones. She’s put them in this wheelbarrow. But maybe she accidentally raked up some good ones. Better check out the wheelbarrow.

What do you think? Is it worth rummaging through all that debris in case there’s a good nut in there? Oh! Wait! I think I see a good one on the ground over there.

Ahhhhh, yes! This is more like it!

Nice of Anneli to share the hazelnuts, don’t you think? We’re not greedy. We’ve left her a handful.

September 18, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 22 Comments

Seafood by the Seaside

The critter in this post has beachfront property – as much as he wants.

Monty the Mink has his own wading pools which sometimes do double duty as dining areas.

He prefers to sit above the high tide line when he’s eating at his own High Tide Restaurant. He’s very tidy about his dishes, leaving them all in one place for the next tide to rinse. The seagulls sometimes help out with the leftovers.

So who is this rich guy who dines on seafood by the seaside? No, this building is not his restaurant, although he has the free run of the property. He’s a very small guy, smaller than many cats. See him in front of the log that has the “No Parking” sign on it? He is just about five feet from the left end of the log, a tiny fellow who can move very quickly, especially when he knows someone is trying to take his picture. He’d rather be blurry and incognito.

Thinking he’s safe, he sneaks up to the rock garden of the people’s restaurant (bottom left). I’m sorry he was feeling so shy and elusive today. He moved very fast and I had little chance of focusing. Maybe another day we will get a better picture of Monty Mink, a Pacific Northwest coast mink.

My weaselly cousin,

Prefers the dry land,

But I like variety,

Found near the sand.

Frogs, fish, and crayfish,

Or turtles, and clams,

As long as it’s meaty,

Hold back on the yams.

I’m tough for my size,

Taking on bigger meals,

A wandering rabbit,

Tastes good when it squeals.

I’m really not mean,

But I have to be tough,

A mink’s got to eat,

And it’s never enough.

September 16, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 29 Comments

A Thousand Words

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This one may not do quite a thousand, but it says a lot.

This man may or may not still be alive. The picture was taken 47 years ago. I never knew his name but he was kind enough to pose for a photo because he had his unique working outfit on.

His job was to clean the chimneys.

So what do you see (anywhere) in the photo?

Some of what I see horrifies me, so please don’t be afraid to say what you see. You won’t hurt my feelings.

I’m looking forward to hearing your observations.

September 7, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 38 Comments

Dragonflies

Before today, I had never heard of an eight-spotted skimmer. I found pictures of a twelve-spotted skimmer, but they have an extra black spot on the end of each wingtip.

I used to be terrified of dragonflies, and nearly went off the road when one flew into the open window of my car and beat itself up on the back window as it tried to get out.

But since Belinda Grover started showing her close-up photos of insects of all sorts in her blog posts, I have learned to appreciate their beauty. Just click on her name to link to her blogsite.

The photo below was taken by a local friend, and because of Belinda’s photos of many other insects, I took a closer look at my friend’s photo and did a search to find out its name.

These dragonflies only live to be one to three years old, and most of that is in their larval stage (before they get wings which help with the mating stage), but during that winged time they eat all kinds of obnoxious smaller insects that we consider pests or that do harm to our crops. So welcome dragonflies. Eat all the little biting flies you can find. It’s too bad that this part of their life only last for about two to four weeks.

One of my favourite haiku poems (not mine) is about a dragonfly.

The dragonfly

his face is very nearly

only eye.

September 4, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 20 Comments

Bob the Cat

I’m pretty sure this is a bobcat (not a lynx – which looks very similar). If you see one of these fellows in your neighbourhood, make sure you keep your little dog or cat in the house while the big guy is prowling around.

This guy was NOT in my yard, and I’m thankful for that.

If you have Bob visiting your neighbourhood, be sure not to leave pet food outside, or have a lot of birdseed lying around your bird feeding station. You may find them interested in your fruit trees when the fruit is ripe. A healthy bobcat probably won’t attack you. It is more interested in your favourite squirrels that live in your woodshed.

If you’re out for a walk in the woods and you see a bobcat, it’s probably a good idea to pick up any small children you may have with you. We can never know how desperate a bobcat may be.

Robert and Roberta Cat

Say they’re bobcats and that’s that.

Bob and Bobbi hunt for squirrels,

Even one that jumps and twirls.

Chase them up and down the tree,

Sneaking up when they don’t see.

Evening time they have a rest,

That’s the time they like the best.

Snug inside their little den,

Under tree roots now and then,

Sometimes underneath a cliff,

Perched beneath a ledge to sniff.

They keep watch for their next meal,

Mouse or mole it’s no big deal.

And on sunny days they rest,

While they let their lunch digest.

September 1, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 39 Comments

A Love of Reading

When I started grade one in Canada, I couldn’t speak English, and it took a while, even after I learned the basic language, to become familiar with vocabulary beyond the day to day necessities. Reading was a chore because of this, all through elementary school, I struggled to find books that were what we now call “high-interest, low-vocabulary.”

My older sister helped solve my reading problems. She was much older than me, and had a very young family. I was a responsible girl and felt privileged to babysit for her when she and her husband went shopping for groceries on a Friday afternoon, fed me supper, and then went out to a movie. My sister didn’t pay me with money, but she paid me with a far greater treasure; she brought me a book every Friday when she came home from shopping.

I still remember that Ginny Gordon and the Lending Library was the first of many books to follow.

Below is a photo of the few books that I have left from my babysitting days. I think I might have been about eight, nine, or ten years old then, although it would be illegal now to babysit at that age, it was just family and I was very responsible. Also, it was the 1950s and a very small town. Not much danger.

These books were my start in learning to enjoy reading, and I’m happy to say that they were the beginning of a lifetime of wonderful reading experiences.

I see that you can still find Ginny Gordon and the Lending Library on Amazon for about $29.99.

In the mid-fifties, my sister paid about 69 cents for each of these books, but that might have been an hour’s wages then (I’m guessing).

My sister died about 12 years ago, but I will never forget what a wonderful person she was, and what a beautiful gift she gave me – a love of reading.

August 19, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 32 Comments

Squish, Squash

Why would a vegetable that has such a hard skin be called a squash?

These are only a few of the squashes ripening in my garden. I have no idea what they are called, but I know they all taste good.

About four years ago, a friend gave me an assortment of squashes just like these because he had so many in his garden and gladly shared them. I happily made meals with them and enjoyed them so much, I decided to save some of the seeds to plant in my own garden the next year.

I got a few of them planted and was happy to see them sprout at last, but in the time it took for them to sprout, many squash plants sprang up in my freshly rototilled garden patch. How did that happen? I had spread the contents of my compost barrel over the ground before rototilling, and in the compost were many seeds from the squash I had cleaned and eaten that previous winter.

For the third year in a row now, I have had volunteer squash plants growing in my garden. I didn’t have the heart to pull them out, except to thin them a bit.

Now there are so many squashes of all the types my friend gave me, that the plants are “squashing” each other.

… Guess what I’ll be eating all winter …

Nothing squishy, nothing squashy,

Simply bring them in to washy,

Cut in half and scoop the seeds,

Feed the compost what it needs.

Place them on a baking sheet,

Spread with butter smooth and neat,

Salt and pepper if you like,

Gives the taste a little spike.

Easy peasy supper treat,

Hot and filling, can’t be beat,

If you want a next year’s crop,

Fill your compost to the top.

When the springtime songbirds sound,

Toss that compost on the ground,

Mix it in and water well,

And the squash will grow like heck.

August 16, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 30 Comments

Discretion and Valor

If you love fishing and camping in solitary places, you might want to scout out your surroundings, before you go too far afield.

This mama grizzly and her two cubs (probably last year’s) like fishing and hanging out in solitary places too.

The fact that she still has both cubs could possibly mean that the fishing has been good and that mother and cubs are healthy and doing fine. However, people and grizzlies in close proximity to each other are usually not a good combination. I hope, for the grizzlies’ sake, that there is no interaction that will cause them to be trapped and “dispatched.”

These bears are on Vancouver Island where grizzlies are making an appearance in the last few years. They swim over from the mainland, island hopping to shorten the distance they need to swim. It’s possible that in this case the mother is trying to keep her cubs safe from male grizzlies who would be a threat to them. In some species, the male would kill the young to gain access to the mother and “have some fun with her.” The big cats are another example of this.

This photo was taken by a friend of the Captain near a favourite fishing spot. Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor, hence the blurry quality of the photo. If the photographer had gone closer, the picture might have been clearer, but he might not have been around long enough to send it.