bracket fungi

A Walk at Flat Top

| Flower Roberts

I tried another new trail today. I am picking flat places to walk by myself. Any time I hike on uneven terrain or wander off the trail, some stumbling starts. I did not take my walking stick today, so I had to be extra careful.

Brackets and moss on a dead tree.

Today’s walk was on one of the roads around the Flat Top Manor, which is also known as the Moses Cone Estate. The mansion is not open yet, but you can park and walk the grounds.

Moses Cone Estate

I am happy to report that I wobbled but did not fall down today. I also got some pictures of lovely bracket fungi. I found colonies on several dead trees. Brackets are identified by color, top texture and pores.

I did not risk climbing up or down banks to identify these. We will appreciate them from afar.

Large bracket

I also spotted a single Bloodroot bloom.

Bloodroot flower

Finding all this and not falling down was a win:win!

FLOWER

Time to Go

| Flower Roberts

Sometimes the signs are too obvious to ignore. I have been monitoring the conchs at the base of this oak for many years.
Next, a species of bracket fungi colonized in a crevasse at its base several years ago and have continually replaced several generations of fruiting bodies.

Old brackets are dark. Newer ones are rust.


The final sign is a huge hole under the base. Long sticks can be pushed deep down in the earth.

When I removed these today, they were actually cold on a warm day.


I will miss this tree, but it seems to lean toward the neighbors pier. That liability was its death blow.


I hope I am here to record the Watt Tree Service team’s removal of this huge oak. Sad but absolutely necessary.

FLOWER

Two Brackets

| Flower Roberts

During my wanderings, two brackets were discovered.

One up a tree 

and one on an old stump.

Both on wood, one wood living

the other dead.

The white on was high up in a tree. 

The brown one was low to the ground hidden by weeds.

The white one looked new, clean and pristine.

The brown  bracket looked old, dirty, and weather worn.

One seemed heavenly,

the other earthly.

FLOW

The Mushroom of Immortality

| Flower Roberts

I found them clinging to the side of an old maple tree.

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The color glowed in the morning sun.

Eating it could give spiritual potency and even immortality.

Such a lovely shine and color.

Shaped like a delicate pastry in a bakery.

Arranged nicely along the trunk like a serving tower.

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One little Ling Chih was caught between trees.

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Should I just eat some here under the tree?

Would there be enough for me to share with my family?

Should I carry some back to give to my elderly parents?

I really should share my good fortune with others…but how much and with who?

Did I remove the Ganoderma lucidum from the tree?

Did I eat the Ling Chih?

We shall see.

FLOWER