Shelf Fungus

Shelf fungus on tree by chocolate lily corner.

This one fell off the base.

Maybe it was too dry all summer. 

This was the fungus a year ago in January 2025.

Witch Hazel in Bloom

Witch Hazel blooming at the Villages. 

Witch hazel (genus Hamamelis) includes several species and popular hybrids, plus the widely grown H. x intermedia crosses (like 'Jelena', 'Arnold Promise', 'Diane') known for diverse, often fragrant, ribbon-like blooms in yellow, orange, and red during fall/winter. Key varieties differ in bloom time, color (yellows, oranges, reds), fragrance, and growth habit, offering options from fragrant yellow 'Arnold Promise' to coppery 'Jelena'. 

This one is on the back side of the game room. 

It isn't as full but is blooming.

These blossoms are on the one on the front side.  

Pink Shelf Fungus - Rosy Conks - Bracket Fungus

These are on the tall stump.

Also called rosy polypore.
Widely distributed in North America's conifer forests, Rhodofomes cajanderi is a tough polypore with a gorgeous pink pore surface and, when fresh and young, pink shades on its cap surface. The caps are generally fairly thin, and often fused together, forming a structure in which individual caps are hard to define. 

Fungus-Sternum Hirsutum

 

Peltigera Dog-tooth Lichen

Peltigera dog-tooth lichen refers to several species in the genus Peltigera, commonly called dog lichen or dogtooth lichen, named for the fang-like, root-like structures (rhizines) on their underside, resembling dog teeth, and also for their historical use in treating dog bites or rabies in medieval times, notes Missouri Department of Conservation and Britannica. These leafy (foliose) lichens, like Peltigera canina or Peltigera membranacea, grow in moist, rich areas on soil, moss, or rocks, forming soft, gray-brown patches with wrinkled tops and white undersides. 

 

Peltigera Lichens - Pelt Lichens

This morning I found several of these low growing pelt lichens in the Preserve.

Peltigera is a genus of approximately 100 species of foliose lichens in the family Peltigeraceae. Commonly known as the dog or pelt lichens, species of Peltigera are often terricolous (grow on the ground), but can also occur on moss, trees, rocks, and many other substrates in many parts of the world. Because of their ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, such lichens are influential in soil composition and generation. 

They are important for ecological succession - Ecological succession is the process of how species compositions change in an ecological community over time.

The generic name is derived from the Latin language pelta (small shield), and refers to the shield-shaped thallus (structures) in these species.

 

Mallards and Wood Ducks on the Duck Pond

Many of the mallards flew up and away as soon as I stood close.

Wood duck on bottom log. Mallards swimming.

I took these pictures from Marvin Road Sidewalk.

Water came up to the edge of the hill from Marvin.

There are some wood ducks on the log.

The one in the middle had and orange underside, not seen on pic. 

California Scrub Jay

California Scrub Jay

A fairly large songbird with lanky dimensions. The tail is long and floppy; the bird often adopts a hunched-over posture. The bill is straight and stout, with a hook at the tip. Look for California Scrub-Jays in open habitats, oak woodlands, and chaparral along the West Coast, as well as in backyards, pastures, and orchards. Typically, though not always, in lower and drier habitats than Steller’s Jay. Diet is mostly acorns, using the hook on it's bill to open the acorns.

This one was along the railroad tracks on Colville and I saw a pair further along the tracks today. 

 

Oak Springs Development

Not much activity lately. 

Mallard Pair in the Water Reservoir.

Lots of water in the reservoir so the ducks are using it.

 

Hummingbird Perching above Mahonia

Hummingbird from inside the window on the treadmill.

The winter sun Oregon grape mahonia that the hummingbird loves. 

Hummingbird Nests

Looking for hummingbird nests.

These two are near the Villages and up Bowthorpe.

One on Coleville.

This one is at the entrance to the Loop on the left side. 

One on 36th.

Saw a hummingbird in Eagledale.

Mahonia "Winter Sun"

This one is on the side by the pool door. 

There is a long row of these plants in a planter in front of the gym window. 

Mahonia x media 'Winter Sun' is a striking evergreen shrub known for its bright yellow, fragrant flowers that bloom in late fall to early spring, providing color and nectar for pollinators when little else is blooming. It thrives in partial shade but tolerates full sun, prefers moist, well-drained soil, and grows to 6-10 feet tall, featuring holly-like, spiky foliage that turns purplish in fall and produces blue-black berries. This low-maintenance, deer-resistant plant is ideal for winter gardens, woodland settings, and as a specimen, attracting birds, bees, and butterflies. 

This plant is outside the gym window and a hummingbird is often sitting near and taking nectar from this plant. 

Callitropsis nootkatensis - Nootka Cypress

These are a native tree.

I found this tag on a tree on Oakwood. 

Callitropsis nootkatensis, formerly known as Cupressus nootkatensis (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis), is a species of tree in the cypress family native to the coastal regions of northwestern North America. This species goes by many common names including: Nootka cypress, yellow cypress, Alaska cypress, Nootka cedar, yellow cedar, Alaska cedar, and Alaska yellow cedar. The specific epithet nootkatensis is derived from the species being from the area of Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. Both locations are named for the older European name Nootka, given the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation.

We have many of these trees in our Ovation planters. 

Nootka Cypress

Callitropsis nootkatensis, formerly known as Cupressus nootkatensis (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis), is a species of tree in the cypress family native to the coastal regions of northwestern North America. This species goes by many common names including: Nootka cypress, yellow cypress, Alaska cypress, Nootka cedar, yellow cedar, Alaska cedar, and Alaska yellow cedar. 

The specific epithet nootkatensis is derived from the species being from the area of Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. Nootka, often referred to as the "Birthplace" of British Columbia, is located at the mouth of Nootka Sound.  In March 1778, Captain James Cook became the first European to set foot on British Columbian soil when he visited Friendly Cove on Nootka Island.

English Oaks on Oakwood

This is the healthiest English Oak in the group.

Picture taken 11/15/25

More leaves have fallen, picture taken today, 12/03/25.

The other dozen English oaks on the knoll have no leaves on them. 

Resident Goldfinches

Saw 4 goldfinches on the cedar on Oakwood. 

American Goldfinches in Washington do migrate, though some populations are resident year-round, and migration can be irregular. The northern populations are the primary migrants, with some leaving Washington in winter, while other populations, particularly in the western part of the state, may stay through the winter and simply molt into duller, non-breeding plumage. Migration typically occurs in mid-fall and early spring

 

Dawn Redwood Trees

On 19th, lots of bare branches with cones hanging.

These two are on Kerrysdale. 

Have not shed their leaves yet.

Kinnikinnick

Kinnikinnick along Oakwood. 

Newly planted an many places.

Lobaria Pulmonaria

Lobaria pulmonaria is a large epiphytic lichen consisting of an ascomycete fungus and a green algal partner living together in a symbiotic relationship with a cyanobacterium—a symbiosis involving members of three kingdoms of organisms. Commonly known by various names like tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, lungwort lichen, oak lungs or oak lungwort, it is sensitive to air pollution and is also harmed by habitat loss and changes in forestry practices. Its population has declined across Europe and L. pulmonaria is considered endangered in many lowland areas. The species has a history of use in herbal medicines, and recent research has corroborated some medicinal properties of lichen extracts.

 I found these under large big leaf maples on a large patch of fallen moss. 

I love the feel of them.