I was out walking in a favorite park and noticed that a downed madrone had sprouted a huge collection of small shelf fungi. I looked up in my guide at home and think it may be Trametes Versicolor. (If someone knows different, please let us know.) Regardless, I was surprised a little because I hadn’t seen fungi on a madrone before. And this variety certainly liked what it found on this decaying log. For reference, below is a healthy specimen of Madrone located a short distance away.
The “Golden Hour” is a term used by photographers to describe the nature of the light in the hour immediately after sunrise and (more typically resulting from my sleep habits) the hour just before sunset. This was one of the roads in Fort Worden State Park (in Port Townsend, WA) late in the day last week. There is a nice warm tone to the sunlight coming through the trees.
Port Townsend (where I live) is at the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets Puget Sound… and at the top of what is referred to as the Admiralty Inlet area.
This image shows the area where the two bodies of water meet. In the distance is Whidbey Island and above it Mt Baker, the northern-most of the stratovolcanoes of the Washington Cascades. Tidal currents in the area can reach 6 knots. (Canoes and kayaks beware!)
Most of the forest in western Washington is Doug Fir and Hemlock … they typically have a pretty vertical growth pattern. On the other hand, is the Pacific Madrone, winding its limbs in sinuous patterns. Maybe that’s why they attract my attention.
I hope that during the holiday season you have time to spend with friends and family and that you do something together … like go for a walk, have a meal, or just sit and talk. I don’t know these people … I just really liked the shadows they threw towards me.