We went to the Spherical Exhibition reception at the A Smith Gallery in Johnson City last night. It was very well attended and I saw and spoke to quite a few fellow Hill Country Photography Club members. Afterward we saw the Johnson City Lighted Hooves and Wheels parade. It was a fun evening!
One of the HCPC members, Lois Schubert, asked me if I knew what kind of mushrooms were in my photograph, "After the Rain". I told her I'd been trying to identify them without success. She said they were amanitas which are extremely poisonous. She said she's seen yellow ones too. I mentioned that the ones I saw were white because, of course, "After the Rain" is a black and white photograph.
When I got home, I started researching to see if I could pin down exactly what kind of amanitas I saw. Amanita is the name of a genus which contains about 600 species. The genus includes some of the most toxic mushrooms known worldwide. About 95% of all the deaths due to mushroom poisoning are caused by amanitas. Quite a scary group and something you don't want to fool with.
The ones in our backyard might have been Amanita polypyramis. The range is right and they're found among oaks which is where I saw them.
Another possibility is Amanita microlepsis.
Many of the identification guides describe the underside gills and the stalk, which I did not photograph or observe. I'm really careful about mushrooms and didn't even want to touch or disturb them. That means that I may never know for sure what kind of amanita they are, but I'll keep looking.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Call Me Ishmael
Unlike Ahab, I'm not particularly obsessed with this white animal. He didn't bite my leg off and kill my son, so I'm not seeking revenge.
I am, however, very interested in knowing what it is. I've seen a white deer in our neighborhood twice. Once it was quite far from our house, and I saw it as I was driving by. It was right beside the road and didn't move as I passed it. I got a good look at it and it didn't have red eyes, so I don't think it was an albino.
The second time, about 2 1/2 years ago, I saw a white deer right outside of our fence and near our driveway's gate as I was driving home. Luckily, I had my camera in the car, so I got out quietly and slowly. I was afraid if I made a sudden movement or loud noise, it would flee. I managed to get 3 photos and this is the best one. you can see our fence on the right side of the picture.
He seemed curious and was looking right at me. I'm pretty sure it was a young male. If you look closely he has two knobs on his head where his antlers are growing. The photo was taken in March, and that's when white-tailed deer antlers start developing. That's an enticing clue that this is actually a white-tailed deer, but I'm not sure.
White-tailed deer are normally tan, but there is a melanistic, much darker, variant which is quite common in our area.
I don't know if the saw the same animal twice or not, but I lean toward not. I saw them several years apart, but the two individuals I saw were both young. Each time, the deer was alone, yet I've noticed that with white-tailed deer, the young ones and their mothers are always together. The older bucks are typically by themselves.
I mentioned to a friend that I'd seen a white deer and he thought it might be a fallow deer. White is one of the color variants of fallow deer. They are not Texas natives; they're originally from Eurasia, but they have been introduced locally. They are kept on hunting ranches as exotics. Perhaps I've seen escapees.
I'm always on the lookout for the elusive white deer. Perhaps one day, I'll get a good enough look to make a positive identification.
I am, however, very interested in knowing what it is. I've seen a white deer in our neighborhood twice. Once it was quite far from our house, and I saw it as I was driving by. It was right beside the road and didn't move as I passed it. I got a good look at it and it didn't have red eyes, so I don't think it was an albino.
He seemed curious and was looking right at me. I'm pretty sure it was a young male. If you look closely he has two knobs on his head where his antlers are growing. The photo was taken in March, and that's when white-tailed deer antlers start developing. That's an enticing clue that this is actually a white-tailed deer, but I'm not sure.
White-tailed deer are normally tan, but there is a melanistic, much darker, variant which is quite common in our area.
I don't know if the saw the same animal twice or not, but I lean toward not. I saw them several years apart, but the two individuals I saw were both young. Each time, the deer was alone, yet I've noticed that with white-tailed deer, the young ones and their mothers are always together. The older bucks are typically by themselves.
I mentioned to a friend that I'd seen a white deer and he thought it might be a fallow deer. White is one of the color variants of fallow deer. They are not Texas natives; they're originally from Eurasia, but they have been introduced locally. They are kept on hunting ranches as exotics. Perhaps I've seen escapees.
I'm always on the lookout for the elusive white deer. Perhaps one day, I'll get a good enough look to make a positive identification.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Agarita Spring
This photo of an Agarita (Mahonia trifoliolata) branch was taken in May of this year.
This native is a member of the barberry family and is an evergreen shrub about 3 - 6 feet in height. The wood and flowers are a bright yellow and, as you can see, the berries a bright red. It has holly-like leaves, and in fact many people mistake it for a holly. The leaflets are lobed and end in sharp spines.
Agarita is widespread on our property and the flowers are fragrant and quite beautiful, especially in a year of good rain, like this was. The berries put on a great show and jump out as they dot the landscape.
I just learned this year that the berries are edible, so every time I was walking on our property and came across one, I would taste the berries. They are quite sweet when ripe.
One of my fellow Hays County Master Naturalists made agarita jelly this year since the berries were so plentiful. He found a recipe on the Internet and got to work. Here's one recipe I found. He reports that picking the berries can be quite painful. He then read about a different method: spread a canvas or plastic sheet around the bush and then shake it! He was able to gather about 3 pounds an hour with this method. He collected a total of about 5 pounds of berries which resulted in 14 1/2 8-ounce jars of jelly.
I donated a framed print of "Agarita Spring" to the silent auction at the Texas Master Naturalist State Meeting which was held last month in New Braunfels. The silent auction was a great success and raised funds for the state organization. I'm glad I could help.
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| Agarita Spring |
Agarita is widespread on our property and the flowers are fragrant and quite beautiful, especially in a year of good rain, like this was. The berries put on a great show and jump out as they dot the landscape.
I just learned this year that the berries are edible, so every time I was walking on our property and came across one, I would taste the berries. They are quite sweet when ripe.
One of my fellow Hays County Master Naturalists made agarita jelly this year since the berries were so plentiful. He found a recipe on the Internet and got to work. Here's one recipe I found. He reports that picking the berries can be quite painful. He then read about a different method: spread a canvas or plastic sheet around the bush and then shake it! He was able to gather about 3 pounds an hour with this method. He collected a total of about 5 pounds of berries which resulted in 14 1/2 8-ounce jars of jelly.
I donated a framed print of "Agarita Spring" to the silent auction at the Texas Master Naturalist State Meeting which was held last month in New Braunfels. The silent auction was a great success and raised funds for the state organization. I'm glad I could help.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Spherical Exhibition
Another one of my images was selected for the Spherical exhibition at the A Smith Gallery in Johnson City, Texas. The juror was Carla Ellard who is the Assistant Curator, SW & Mexican Photography Collection, Wittliff Collection at Texas State University in San Marcos.
Please be sure to visit the A Smith Gallery web site and view all the images accepted into Spherical.
The opening reception for Domicile will be on Saturday, November 27th, from 4pm to 7pm. Johnson City's Lighted Hooves and Wheels parade starts at 6:30pm, so you should plan a day trip to view the exhibition and the parade.
"After the Rain" is a photograph of a small set of mushrooms that popped up in our yard after a recent rain. I don't know what kind they are, but as always with mushrooms - if you don't know what they are, then assume they're poisonous.
The largest one was about 5 inches in diameter and they only lasted about 3 days before withering. Mushrooms are fungi and the part we think of as the mushroom is actually the fruiting body of a network of tiny thread-like parts in the soil called mycelium.
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| After the Rain |
Please be sure to visit the A Smith Gallery web site and view all the images accepted into Spherical.
The opening reception for Domicile will be on Saturday, November 27th, from 4pm to 7pm. Johnson City's Lighted Hooves and Wheels parade starts at 6:30pm, so you should plan a day trip to view the exhibition and the parade.
"After the Rain" is a photograph of a small set of mushrooms that popped up in our yard after a recent rain. I don't know what kind they are, but as always with mushrooms - if you don't know what they are, then assume they're poisonous.
The largest one was about 5 inches in diameter and they only lasted about 3 days before withering. Mushrooms are fungi and the part we think of as the mushroom is actually the fruiting body of a network of tiny thread-like parts in the soil called mycelium.
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