Trail Scenes

Spent the better part of a day walking the Forest Park trails in Springfield, Massachusetts. Curious about the name given to the Virginia Creeper (shown below), I looked it up. Wikipedia says, "The name Virginia creeper, referring to both the plant's 'virgin' epithet and to part of its native range in the U.S. state of Virginia, is also used for the whole genus Parthenocissus, as well as for other species within the genus."

 

Palazzo in the Park

 

Meripilus Giganteus?

I'm awful at correctly identifing various species of mushrooms. That said, my field guide strongly suggests 

that these mushrooms I found in Forest Park are indeed Meripilus Giganteus, more commonly 

known as Black-staining Polypore. It depends on which you trust more as a source, the National Audubon Society or Wikipedia. :-)

Carl

Meet Carl, who, in my opinion, is a not so miniature Sicilian donkey at the Forest Park zoo.