Conk!

Day 146: This is a bracket fungus or shelf fungus, otherwise known colloquially as a conk. Mind you don't confuse a conk with a conker which, as you may know, is a horse chestnut and the implement used in a rather hazardous game played by British children and now banned in most schools. The name "conker" becomes obvious to players in a very short time, but that's another subject entirely. I first encountered the term "conk" in reference to a bracket fungus somewhat late in life and was curious with regard to its etymology. The results of my research into the word's origin were inconclusive, although many experts seem to hold that it most likely originated in "conch" (a shell with a somewhat similar shape), and "conk" is an accepted pronunciation for "conch." Trust me, you would not want to play conkers with conks like these!

Pierced Ear

Day 59: Whodathunk it? Mother Nature has a pierced ear! It only makes sense that she'd keep up with trends, but I was still surprised to see her decked out in fine fashion on a little-used trail in Nisqually State Park. As for the fungal ear, it was not in a position for me conducive to examination of the underside, although it appears to display teeth rather than pores when viewed from this angle. This would suggest Cerrena unicolor, as opposed to Trametes versicolor (Turkey Tail) which has pores in the manner seen on many other species of shelf fungus.

In Days Of Old

Day 276: Okay, don't everybody fall down laughing. Yes, that is indeed Your Humble Narrator, way back in the Carbon River days. Just for chuckles, I dragged the slide out of my archives and had a friend scan it for me, but age will take its toll on slides and Crows alike. I'm not sure which of us fared the worst. I will admit that the uniform I wear today is a few sizes larger...well, the pants and shirt, anyway...hat size decreased when the Afro disappeared...and the insignia changed from the shield design to the current round patch. That said, I transferred one of the old patches to my new hat, proud to be one of the "Old-Timers" in the Park.