Microcosmic Observations

Explorations and observations of the natural world. All pictures are my own.

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Some more photos taken on a lovely spring day.

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POV: You're just a little guy hanging out under the wild ginger.

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I haven't had the time/energy to hike as much as I'd like, but I have been hooked on doing a loose watercolor painting of a bird or five most days.

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Hepatica was the first spring ephemeral to emerge in my local woods, which meant it got a lot of attention me, saying, "I love you I love you you're so beautiful" We survived another winter.

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Whoops, I haven't posted since November! I finally got a job after spending most of the year hopelessly navigating a dumpster fire of a job market, and unfortunately this job takes up 110% of my energy despite paying not very much. I'm hoping now that we're emerging from the short winter days I will start to come alive again just like the woods. I hope you are all surviving these tumultuous times. Let us fully embrace the small joys we can find to help carry us through the chaos.

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Leafy brain jelly fungus (Phaeotremella foliacea)

(October 2025)

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October 2025

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White saddle (Helvella crispa)

(October 2025)

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Bee getting the last bits of pollen from a rose

(October 2025)

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Wasp nest slime mold (Metatrichia vesparium)

Someone on iNaturalist with very good eyes pointed out that there is also some Polycephalomyces sp. parasitizing the slime mold. I've only noticed this once before over a decade ago growing on pretzel slime mold. They are the little white stalks in the picture below. I love tiny ecosystems!

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I'm grateful for last remaining flowers of the season, made up of mostly asters.

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May I present to you: bee butt

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Slime mold in the Trichiales order (can't narrow it down further at this stage)

(September 2025)

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Slug slurping up a mushroom. Its eye stalks were a little tucked in in the beginning because I'd bumped the log.

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Ischnoderma resinosum

(September 2025)

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When I saw this on my hike this morning I went HEH! really loud, and fortunately no one was around to witness it.

I love how mushrooms make do with wherever they've popped up.

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How it's changed over time

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'Tis the season for shrimp of the woods. Despite spending so much of my time looking for mushrooms, I actually almost never forage them because I have a weak baby tummy and am scared of doing anything to upset it.

Who here likes eating shrimp of the woods?