Sunday, January 4, 2009

Mushrooms vs. Birds


It was cool and cloudy today, and still damp from last night's heavy rain and this morning's thick fog. Luckily I'd already walked Radu on the road (with leash) for exercise, for on my way to the pipeline for a good doggy-run/hike my attention was caught by these tiny waxy-orange mushrooms growing on a long, rotting log.  Ha!  I was still within sight of the house when I sat down to draw.  

As I admired the multitude of mushrooms that glowed brightly against the saturated log, two things happened at once -  a squirrel scampered through the woods and up a Cedar tree carrying a wad of fallen leaves to add to her nest (we've been watching this project slowly progress), and a screaming Pileated Woodpecker zoomed through the treetops and landed high in a Tulip Poplar. He continued his noisy kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk the whole time he investigated the tree. He didn't seem to be foraging.  Perhaps he was scoping out a nesting tree. More sightings this afternoon:  Titmice, Chickadees, Goldfinches, Purple Finches, pair of Cardinals, Carolina Wren, Song Sparrow (bathing), and White Throated Sparrows.  The big treat was seeing (in the same field of vision through my binoculars) a Brown Creeper and a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker hitching up neighboring trees at an identical pace.  Hop - hop - hop - hop - hop! You could never plan such an event.

Even though it was a great birding day, I chose to draw the tiny mushrooms. These two were such well-mannered models - they stayed in one place the whole time I worked.  

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