The Weekends

Days are getting shorter, the seasons are changing, and daylight is much more limited since daylight savings time has ended. We are changing now from Autumn and getting ready for the winter ahead. Our weekends are full of chores and planned events with family and friends, along with some last minute get togethers before 2021 comes to an end.

We took advantage of some extra time we had in our schedules this weekend.. By bringing up Christmas decorations from the basement and starting that (sometimes dreadful) transition from fall to winter. We have quite a few Christmas decorations so this process takes us a while to complete. It’s better we get a jump on it whenever we get the time.

But this weekend wasn’t just comprised of rooting things out of the basement and scattering them around the house. I did take a little 'Me Time' and created a blog post on Saturday (not something I typically do). But before I sat down to type away at the computer, I took another early morning walk around the outside of the house. It was wet and chilly, but tolerable nonetheless. I remembered making a promise to @ewkaw recently, that I would take some additional photos of some birds nest fungi I found a few weeks ago (and she pointed them out to me in a photo). So that’s just what I did!

The Hunt Begins ..

I mainly focused my search near the front of my house.. Knowing that’s where I would most likely find these birds nest fungi I was hunting. The front of our home is North facing, so the sun rarely hits some areas closest to the homes foundation. This area is also heavily planted with shrubs, ground cover and evergreen plants. The plants add to the shade, moisture retention, and organic matter that has built up over time.

It did not take me long to discover several different types of fungi growing in this area. The ground is covered with a layer of wood mulch made from root grinding‘s. Obviously this wood does not last forever and begins to decay creating an organic oasis for different types of fungi. I saw three or four different types right away, but I’m sure there are more I just don’t have a keen eye to either notice them or separate the different species.

Orange Yellow Mushrooms - Unknown ..

The most visible fungi (and quickly found) are these orange yellow mushrooms that seem to be growing in clusters. They seem to be isolated closer to the plants and maybe that is because of the amount of moisture in the mulch just under and around the plants. They aren’t very big mushrooms and I would consider them small. They measured approximately 1 inch high to 1/2 to 1 inch wide. Like always I assume they are inedible due to the fact I’m not ready to die today and I don’t like to eat mushrooms. LOL.

I took several pictures of these mushrooms because they are rather cute and a pretty shade of orange yellow. The organic matter (mulch and pieces of plant material) are littered around the surface just below these mushrooms.

The Bird's Nest Fungi

Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Nidulariaceae
Genera: Unknown (Crucibulum, Cyathus, Mycocalia, Nidula, or Nidularia)

It wasn’t long before I started to notice the Birds Nest Fungi.. Growing on the outside circumference of these little yellow/orange mushrooms. The birds nest fungi did not seem to grow too close to the plant material but rather out in the open areas of the mulch. I did try to look up the genera of this particular fungi, but there are five general in the family and I was unable to determine what I have here. I may even have multiple genera, but I don’t want to just guess.

Below is a photograph of my finger for size reference. This gives you an idea of how small these little guys are.

The fruiting bodies of this fungi are quite small and vase shaped, and look like a nest. Most of them contained one to many disc shaped peridioles (the egg looking parts). I learned that these little disc shaped peridioles are easily dispersed when a raindrop hits them and splashes them out not far from the “nest”. In the picture below you can see where they have been displaced from the “nest” and are now lying on some of the wood chips and ready to form new fruiting bodies.

Some areas of the mulch or just littered with these birds nest fungi. Hundreds and hundreds of them lie scattered along the ground in the mulch. This mulch was placed down two years ago, so the decomposition of it is well on its way. This makes sense that the fungi are happy here, being around so much decaying organic matter. I’ll be re-mulching this area next spring and covering these fungi over. It won’t stop their progression though, because nature always finds a way to continue. They will grow up through the new mulch and reestablish the presents in no time.

The Lichen ..

I also observed some lichen fungi growing on my Crimson pygmy barberry. I planted these barberry bushes almost 14 years ago. They are due to be replaced being they are starting to get sort of leggy and old. The wood, mostly in the center of the plants, it’s beginning to die back. I noticed more and more of the lichen starting to grow on the interior portions of the plant, and slowly causing dieback. Although I don't believe this is the main cause of the dieback, but rather helps to speed the process along.

As you can tell, there’s not much wood surface left that isn’t covered by the lichen. A few years ago I did cut back a couple of the bushes right to the ground. New growth eventually sprouted up and started to form a new bush. It took quite a while for this to happen and I don’t believe my patience is that good to just sit back and wait for all these plants to reestablish themselves. Below is an example. The new plant is only about 6 inches tall and 4 inches wide, and took several years to grow.

I will most likely be supporting my local greenhouse and purchasing some new plants to fill in where I remove these old ones. This is another spring project where I plan on removing some of these or all of these lichen covered Crimson barberry.

More Lichen ??

The Japanese lace leaf maple that sits between our driveway and our walkway, also has some fungi beginning to grow on its top most branches. This is something I’m going to have to look into and possibly purchase something to kill it off (the fungi, not the tree).

I want to try to save this tree as I have become very attached to it and it does look very pretty now that it is an adult specimen.

There are some copper-based fungicide‘s and horticultural oil‘s that can be used to help ward off fungi attacking one’s landscape plants.

Enough Fungi Hunting For Now ..

*Everything will remain as it is until spring.. Because we just don’t have time and I don’t feel like getting into spring like projects just before the onset of winter. Until then, it will give me some time to research and purchase the right materials to help treat this maple tree, at least. The rest of it will have to be removed by hand.

That’s it for my Saturday morning walk around the yard, and hunt my hunt for birds nest fungi for @ewkaw. The only thing I would have liked to do was get some real nice macros of these fungi. Not this time around since the battery in my Canon Rebel T1i decided to stop charging. Looks like I'll be on the hunt now, for a new battery. (hahaha)

So For Now, STOP sitting around and do something with your weekend time.

“Fungi make worlds. They also unmake them. There are lots of ways to catch them in the act. When you cook mushroom soup, or just eat it. When you go out gathering mushrooms, or buy them. When you ferment alcohol, plant a plant, or just bury your hands in the soil; and whether you let a fungus into your mind, or marvel at the way that it might enter the mind of another. Whether you’re cured by a fungus, or watch it cure someone else; whether you build your home from fungi, or start growing mushrooms in your home, fungi will catch you in the act. If you’re alive, they already have.”
― Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures

Thank you for swinging by my blog and checking out the post. Have a great day!

All words, pictures and art pieces are the sole property of B D Miller Gallery, unless otherwise noted and credited, and are not to be reproduced or copied without the prior written consent of B D Miller Gallery.

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