Arboretum Mushrooms

Last time we were at the arboretum (May), we found wild asparagus, ramps, fiddleheads and morels. With summer winding down, we returned to see what new bounty the forest floor had to offer. We were not disappointed.

Heaps and heaps of wee puffballs along the trail . . .

and some real giants, too. We had a puffball feast last night with some we found near Medicine Lake yesterday.
Lots of lovely, yummy oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus).
A nice woody shelf mushroom, which may be several years old.
Just as we were coming of the trail, this perfect little hen of the woods (Grifola frondosa) called out, "nibble me."

Minnesota Wilderness (with wolf encounter)

In an age when most of the "woods" have been replaced by degraded second-growth, we are very lucky in Minnesota to have over a million acres of contiguous pristine public lands. From forest floor to the canopy, and in the waters between, the Boundary Waters and surrounding Great North Woods are truly intact ecosystems.

The Gunflint Trail (look closely at the center of the picture below) runs through the heart of this wilderness, from Grand Marais on the north shore of Lake Superior all the way to the Canadian border.

Of course, no trip to this area is complete without some canoeing. Here is an early-morning picture taken on Poplar Lake.
For comparison, here's a picture taken while dogsledding on nearby Gunflint Lake during our March 2008 trip. Then as now, we were overwhelmed with the scale and beauty of this area. We also did some back-country skiing on that occasion, and saw lots of moose tracks.

And although it's a little early for the Fall migration, birds are still plentiful. Here's a pair of yellow-bellied sapsuckers working over a birch tree along the Meads Lake portage.

And here's a gray jay checking us out (look at the center of the picture below). Other sightings included the red crossbill, belted kingfisher, sharp-shinned hawk, red-breasted nuthatch, ruby-crowned kinglet, brown creeper, white-throated sparrows and a variety of warblers. Driving home along the North Shore, we stopped to check out a large group of juvenile mergansers.
On Wednesday evening, we took a hike to South Lake on the Canadian border. After pushing through miles of dense undergrowth (and feasting on wild blueberries and raspberries) on what was little more than a deer track, we finally came to the end of the trail, an old voyageur portage site.
As we stepped up onto the small clearing to get a better look at the lake (where, incidentally, a magnificent loon was cruising the shallows), we heard a heavy rustling from the forest to our left and saw a flash of gray come out from the trees and move towards us, parting the high grass in its wake. Then, just 10 meters away from where we stood, a massive Timber Wolf appeared on the edge of our clearing. When he saw us, he stood stock still and fixed us for a few seconds with an emotionless, calculating stare. I think one of us said, "umm, that's a wolf . . . a big wolf." He then turned and padded back into the forest, leaving us both in absolute awe.

Gunflint Mushroom Porn

After a dry summer, the heavy rains of the week past produced a bumper crop of mushrooms, and great variety. Above, a patch of Rusula in the shade of some spruce trees.
Here's a classic hericium coralloides, or "coral tooth", fruiting from the end of a cut log. We couldn't resist taking a bit of this home for dinner.
On the other extreme, amantia muscaria, or "fly agaric" is a potent hallucinogen.
These little opportunists were growing out of a moss-covered birch.

And, finally, a "hat trick" of fungi along the trail.

Images of Iceland

The glacial lake Jökulsárlón, flowing off the mountains and into the sea.
Reynisfjara beach . . .
whose basalt cliffs jut upward, forcing perspective like some impossible city of stone
and whose black beach stretches through the mist towards Dyrholaey.

Falls and grassy highlands above Skogar, on the trail to Þórsmörk ("Thor's Forest").

The volcanic palette of Heimaey Island from Eldfell ("Fire Mountain")
and a pair of happy trampers overlooking Eldfell from her sister mountain, Helgafell.
Darkening skies above the lighthouse at Gardskagi

and a lone dwelling near the bird cliffs at Hafnaberg.

For some experiences, words fail and pictures are inadequate to the task of full description. Still, they have the power to stir memory, and to render the perfect details present for us again. Like the marvelous langoustines at Höfn, or the horses sheltering in the ruins of an old farmhouse as sun set on the way home, finding a dead puffin (our first) at Reynisfjara, then looking up at the cliffs teeming with life. Whimbrels in the morning, cairns (and more cairns), trees and gravestones behind a chapel in Reykavik, a loon teaching her chick to dive and a last family of terns at Kleifarvatn. If there is a god, it is in these moments.

Grass Houses, Geysir and Gullfoss

Okay, so starting with the letter "G" and being in Iceland is about all these things have in common.

The origin of the word we commonly use to describe a geothermal vent traces back to one particular such vent in southwestern Iceland.

Although it hasn't been active for many years, it's near neighbor, called Strokkur, is actually more faithful than "Old Faithful", erupting on average every 5-8 minutes.So get ready . . .
Get set . . .
and Gooooooo! What's particularly amazing is how close you're allowed to get to these vents. Standing just 3 meters away, you really feel the shock wave and hot spray. After a few minutes of rapt anticipation, the blast is a bit overwhelming, and evoked that giddy, involuntary "roller coaster" laughter from both of us.
And how's this for a coda from hot to cold? A frosty early morning video of Gullfoss, just a few kilometers away from the Geysir fields.

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Vatnajökull- a video hike

Dominating the landscape of southeastern Iceland, Vatnajökull is Europe's largest glacier, exceeding 100km in diameter at some points. Skaftafell National Park lies on the southern edge of the glacier, a mountainous terrain poised between the Vatna's icy fingers. It is difficult to imagine a more perfect place for a rigorous hike.

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Birds of Iceland

At first glance, this doesn't look like a bird picture at all. But look closer (click photo to enlarge) at both the sky and the water. Those myriad little dots are puffins, who flock to Heimaey Island every spring to breed. If you can't enlarge, or want more "action", there's a video clip of the puffin flock at the end of this post.

The puffins share the island with other birds, such as the Fulmar, a relative of the albatross. . .

and the kittiwake, a mild mannered smallish gull with lovely coloring and delicate features.

Even the plucky white wagtail makes a (blurry) cameo. . .
as does the industrious redshank.
On the mainland, summer is the time when 5,000 or so breeding pairs of great skua mate along the rocky southern coastal flats. These are large birds, and they make a living harassing smaller shore birds into regurgitating up hard-earned food in mid flight. A puffin or an arctic tern is no match for this rascal.
In Iceland, the oystercatcher has evolved into more of a generalist, and is as likely to be seen working the soil of a paddock as he is wading along the shore.
Here's a shot of a young golden plover we encountered on the Skaftafell highlands. We spotted mom first, perched on a rock 30m away, and heard the lad below peeping from the marshy flat just alongside the trail.

Also near the glacier we ran across this ptarmigan, who eyed us suspiciously and emitted several guttural croaks, but made no haste to get out of our way. In winter, the ptarmigan's plumage turns snowy white and the red brow patch turns bright scarlet.

Other species encountered but not shown include the wheatear, arctic skua, great norther diver (aka loon), arctic tern, turnstone, greylag goose, black guillemot and a variety of waterfowl.

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Random Summer Pix

Cricketers on Bryn Mawr Fields, where we met Patricia, a plucky Englishwoman who had studied at the U and stayed in town for 20+ years to teach. She contemplated some globetrotting over a Red Stripe (for breakfast, no less). We also met Charles from the West Indies, who tried to recruit us for the local side. Hmmmmm . . . we'll see.
Here's Kristen, looking lovely on the balcony . . .
. . . as is evident from Teo's enraptured gaze.
Me and Maddie at the baseball game (I think that covers all the Pluntzlings, between this blog and the last).
And last, for good measure, a Grizzly keeping cool at the Minnesota Zoo.