Francesco's

 

So, I've had to overcome a reluctance on my part to share my local favorites, mostly because I favor the little known and often slightly out-of-the-way places to eat, which are not likely to remain "little known" if I spotlight them. Anyway, Francesco's is one of my favorites.

Greeting me, as I entered last night, was this cool color-changing sign. More about this place tomorrow.

Signs & Wonders

 

York River State Park

Downed Trees

 

 

 

 

York River State Park

Ghosts

 

Taskinas Creek Trail, York River State Park

Old Knobby

 

Taskinas Trail, York River State Park

Lost World

 

Taskinas Creek Trail, York River State Park

Slippery When Wet

 

The Taskinas Creek Trail in York River State Park, following as it does the edge of a vast tidal marsh, can become very slippery. I suppose that's why park officials have wrapped the boardwalks in this chicken wire (above).

I arrived as the tide was still out.

Taskinas Creek Trail

 

Monarch

 

Campus Shop

 

Plein Air

 

Autumn Sky

 

Linking today with Skywatch Friday.

Fall Garden

 

 

Shaggy-stalked Lepiota

 

 

I can never be certain about mushrooms. They're just such a dizzying variety that any identification I make is, at best, a wild guess. And, anyway, my interest in them isn't so much scientific as artistic. I just think they're fascinating to look at and fun to photograph. There also seem to be a lot of them around this month.

 

Eastern Cauliflower

 

"Sparassis (also known as cauliflower mushroom) is a genus of parasitic and saprobic mushroom characterised by its unique shape and appearance and is found around the globe. Its appearance can be described as similar to a sea sponge, a brain or a head of cauliflower, hence its popular name." -- Wikipedia

Slime?

 

 

 

I do wonder how many times in a week people pass by this stuff and think to themselves, "Ugh! That's disgusting!" Yeah, well, I agree. On the other hand, I'm also reminded of this little piece of wisdom found in my National Audubon Society Field Guide to Mushrooms: 

 

"Mushrooms [or more broadly, fungi] also play a vital role in the world's ecosystem. Many land plants could not thrive in their absence, since some establish a symbiotic relationship with fungi, exchanging essential nutrients. And were it not for mushrooms, which hasten decomposition, many dead plants and fallen trees would take far longer to decay." 

Morning Commute

 

Tawny Emperor

 

"This butterfly may be seen flying near houses, gravel driveways (✅), near water, muddy places, gardens, and woodlands. Its only host plant is hackberry trees." -- Wikipedia

Waxing Crescent

 

Jamestown-Scotland Ferry under a waxing crescent moon.

Linking today with Skywatch Friday.

Lepiota

 

There are a dizzying variety of mushrooms; so much so, in fact, that I'm hard pressed even with a field guide to identify most. This one is no exception. Looks to me like Lepiota procure. Can anyone confirm that?

Lepiota is a genus of gilled mushrooms in the family Agaricaceae. All Lepiota species are ground-dwelling saprotrophs with a preference for rich, calcareous soils. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are agaricoid with whitish spores, typically with scaly caps and a ring on the stipe. Around 400 species of Lepiota are currently recognized worldwide. Many species are poisonous, some lethally so." -- Wikipedia

Details

I think the real beauty of the Beaver Trail in York River State Park, as is true of most trails, is in the details, as in the case of the spider web shown above and the seedling below.

Beaver Trail

 

Beaver Trail, York River State Park

Smallanthus uvedalia (aka Bear's Foot)

Beaver Trail

Crossing

 

Sinking Sun