summer_jackel

I've been meaning to make this post for a couple of months now, and just haven't; things have been busy. This was originally going to be a photoessay celebrating my resident gastropods, but as I was looking through the unposted pictures from spring, I realized that I have a lot of others as well, so have some flowers, fungus and spiders.

Mostly, it's all about the banana slug love, though.

tailypo, this one's for you. :)

It was the wettest spring we've had for years, and as a result everything has stayed green longer and bloomed more excitingly. Spring is definitely coming to a close; it's warm enough for me to swim and most of the delicate little flowers are done. I'm seeing fewer slugs, most of them having gone to den. A few months ago, though, the slugs had free run of the place.

Hi! I'm a banana slug.

I love this shot.

A slug in the hand is worth two in the sorrel.

The slugs aren't my only special forest gastropod neighbors. When I am very fortunate, I spot a redwood snail. I found several denning under rotten wood in my garden this spring. They are not common.

It was raining and I am a banana slug.

Here's another individual, a larger, darker one. See how the shell is on in a completely different way than a garden snail?

The forest has spiders, too. So many of these tiny, delicate orb weavers. Photographing them is a pain in the butt, but trying occasionally gets me a nice shot.

She decided to spin in the lid of one of my pots. I relocated her gently into the garden.

This one was up on the ridge, where there is more sun and grasslands. Kyn has identified this as a Phydippus jumping spider.

With a face.

So much sorrel.

Wild rose, tender and delicate in the shade.

Leaf litter with wood trillium

I have lots of love for the trillium. It grows in heavy shade and doesn't last more than a week or so. The flowers start pure white, and then fade to red before wilting.

Ascomycete fungus. Love love love.

Calypso orchids. There were so many of them this spring! Tiny, delicate, hard to spot and gorgeous.

They fade quickly.

An awesome, slimy yellow fungus. One of my dreams is to go back to school and study mycology, so that I know more about all the really fantastic fungus that lives all around me. No idea what this is, other than slimy and delightful.