Puffballs? Are some pretty darn awesome fungi. On Friday, we went to Hart's Woods challenge course, which is nicely wooded with some old oaks and lots of rotting logs... Anyhow, my groups instructor told the kids in my group (which had named itself Team Awesome, btw) that the word "awesome" was overused and that they could not use that word to answer questions about how the team did. Awesome, really, means awe-inspiring. He told them tidal waves are awesome. Standing balanced on a see-saw with your classmates, really, could be described more accurately with other words. It is with this in mind that I call the puffballs awesome.

They look plain and unassuming. (They do get quite a bit larger than this one...) They're pretty boring most of the time. And then they split open.

Touch them even lightly and a cloud of spores wafts out, looking like brown smoke around a witch's cauldron. (It is very hard to photograph this...) And there seems to be an endless supply of spores inside. I watched a bunch of 7th graders, who are at the age when they're too cool for everything, go from "whatever" to literally pushing me out of the way so they could look at the plain beige mushrooms. Anything that has that power must really be awesome.

Here is is after 7th graders discovered it...

This one is just about done spilling its guts (it's a different one, I promise).

A Few Honest Scraps

Well. I'm honored to have been tagged by Mary Delle at the Secret Cottage Garden for the Honest Scrap Award. Though titled an award, it seems like one of those chain emails, except for blogs. I wasn't certain about it, so I did a little bit of research, and here's what I came up with.

1. You express your gratitude, Oscar-style, at getting the award and you credit your nominator. You also paste the Honest Scrap picture on your blog.

2. You tell 10 honest, interesting things about yourself in a blog post. For some bloggers, that may be simple (or hard because they already reveal everything about themselves in their blogs). For me, it's "hard" because my personal idiosyncrasies are really not the purview of my blog -- I mostly keep my other pursuits out of the internet world. Also, I am not predisposed to brag on myself, but nor do I wish to disparage myself in public (as it were). But this will be an atypical entry, I suppose.

3. You choose 7 other blogs to nominate for the award, and notify them, so they can do the same thing. (I read anywhere between 7 and 10 nominations, but I'm going on the low side due to point #3 below.) Of course it's optional, and I almost didn't do it... but then I figured.... why not? It's cool that people -- or at least one person -- wants to know more about me. And I enjoyed reading her 10 things, so...

Here are the 10 honest, somewhat interesting factoids about Naomi:

1. My current job is the longest I’ve ever spent going to one place each day. It got that distinction this year, as I began my 7^th year… which means I have been at PCCS for longer than I was at my own elementary school (6 years, k-5). High school and Carleton College are next at 4 years each, and I’ve never stayed at a job longer than 2 years before this. (I did have the same summer job for about 7 years, but that’s just 8 weeks a year). I feel like I should be getting tired of it, but I’ve got no plans to leave.

2. We have 4 wall calendars and none of them is currently showing November, 2009.

3. I don’t read blogs. I write one, and I am thrilled when other people read it, and feel guilty that I don’t follow all the people who follow me. But with a very few exceptions, I don’t spend the time. In general, I have a working relationship with my computer. I use it to work, and to find out necessary information at home (like directions to places), but I don’t use it for fun. This blog is the exception that proves the rule… to be honest, I started it for a class. It was an assignment. But that was just the first 3 or 4 entries. Then I received a grade and was free to abandon the project, as did 99% of the other students in my ed tech class. But I was hooked. It was almost like my nature journal on line, and when I got a scanner… well… then it became my nature journal on line. (So I apologize to all those out there who are offended because I rarely read back.)

4. I can start a fire with flint and steel even on rainy and windy days (which a student correctly described as “about the worst possible weather for what we’re doing.”)

5. Sometimes I just hate being outside. As the “nature teacher” at my school, I feel like I’m supposed to love it all the time… but after a week of going outside with classes every day, some Saturdays I just want to lay on the couch.

6. I think I might actually like fennel. Since I first joined a CSA and began my locavore endeavor, I have dreaded getting fennel. I don’t like wasting things, and I tried it several ways and just never liked the taste. It has a distinct flavor, and some things, you just don’t like, you know? But it turns out? I like to eat it raw, like celery.

7. Becoming what I mock, I seem to be a fan of reality TV. I mean, I’ve still never watched the Bachelor or an episode of Survivor… but I would plan my week around Top Chef, if I ever had any plans that late on a weeknight. And all those shows in the same vein – Project Runway, Top Design – I watch them, too, although I don’t enjoy them as much because I don’t really know or care about fashion/design. Cake shows, like Cake Boss and Ultimate Cake-off, are a new addition to my repertoire (complementing wedding shows). And the one I’m most ashamed of… The Biggest Loser. Yeah, I know.

8. I let my cats sit on the table while I’m eating. Heck, I practically let them sit on the plate.

9. I am proud of the fact that, since June 5, 2009, I have not had a single diet coke. Beginning in high school, I drank diet coke every day, in varying amounts at various times – anywhere from 1 can per day to 6. As vices go, I could have worse, but is was definitely inconsistent with the other dietary choices I have made.

10. I honestly love plants and fungi and bugs, I can’t get enough of them, the shapes and patterns and textures, the smells that change with the seasons, the spectacular adaptations that are beyond the imaginations of even the best science fiction writers. Grand scenery is great, but it’s the little miracles that really amaze me. I’m not kidding about my nature nerdery.

Now, here's my nominations:

Jamie's Drama (because I get to remotely stay linked to my college roommate turned life-long friend, who I dearly miss)

Chicago Gardener (because, well, how could I not?)

The Daily Parker (because I always learn something interesting, and who doesn't love an up-to-date pic of the dog?)

Huginn-Muninn (because I wish Five Crows would write again, I miss her blog even though I get to talk to her almost every day. I doubt she'll do it, but it's worth a shot.)

Fractured Thoughts (because more people should get to know the Veteran's writing...)

Blue Jay Barrens (because I learned about nostoc, which is pretty cool)

Tag! You're it!

Sigh. I'm just going to hope that my readers aren't that into math.

A Galling Situation

There are hundreds of varieties of oak galls, and this is one of the coolest I've found. It looks like something alien to earth, with magenta tentacles coming from a yellow orb. (A gall, in case you're not as nature nerdy as I, is a growth on the plant that contains an insect larva or a mite. Most of them have little wasps or flies. In most cases, the insect secretes a substance that causes the plant tissue to grow abnormally and then the insect can develop inside the protective plant tissue. Oaks and goldenrods seem to be common hosts to galls. Also maples and ashes, now that you mention it.)

This seems to be how they start, small and tentacle-less.
This is an older one; they got almost half an inch long and turned brown, like little hedgehogs.

Here are some of the other oak galls I found today. Unfortunately, I only had my camera for part of the day, so I missed some of the varieties I found.

Tomorrow? Some scraps of honesty, I promise.

Hanging Monkey Brains

Partial picture of an Osage orange. I am not sure what I was thinking when I started this... how could I possibly have had the time, or the patience, to complete all those little segments? But I did gain an intimate knowledge of the different sizes and shapes and patterns in there...

As the leaves fall away, revealing bare branches, the Osage orange trees stand out for the improbable green orbs hanging from their branches. The numerous orange-sized, chartreuse fruits look like earrings dangling from the tree's branches, or perhaps early Christmas ornaments. The fruits consist of many seeds that come out from the center like rays of sunshine. Each little segment could contain a seed, and all the segments get narrow and connect to the center.

Osage orange trees, also known as hedge apples, and called monkey brains by my students, aren't actually native here. They originally come from the Texas, southern Arkansas, and Oklahoma (OK!) areas, but were moved north as hedge row trees, where they remain today. These trees made barbed wire fences possible -- I'm not sure if that's because their thick, sharp thorns gave rise to the concept or because their rot- and termite-resistant wood was often used for the fenceposts on farms. Thus Osage orange trees were partially responsible for the transformation of our prairies into farm fields.

The seed balls, which provide hours of recess fun and squirrel food, aren't actually viable. I'm not certain if this is because we are just too far north for these trees to grow from seed, or if it's because the seeds aren't fertile. Osage orange trees are a variety that have distinct male and female trees, and female trees without male trees in the area will still fruit, but the fruits won't contain viable seeds. So maybe I am only in the vicinity of girl trees.

The Last Flower of 2009

Today I looked up during a class and saw shrubs coated in bright yellow. I knew they were witch hazel from their location, and I knew that I had seen witch hazel flowers covered in snow before. I used to think that they were some of the very first signs of spring. Turns out, I was misguided. They are the last flowers of fall (at least this yellow variety), which sometimes hang on until later in the winter. But now is when they're being pollinated. There aren't that many pollinators out there at this point, but these plants are capitalizing on the fact that what few pollinators are left have got very limited options. So they're all heading to the witch hazels. I guess there are moths that last into winter and feed on these flowers. Once pollinated, the plant will go dormant for the winter and the nuts won't form until next year. It's sort of a strange life cycle, really. But it obviously works.

Other trees adorned with chartreuse today are the osage oranges (more on them at a later time). I am tired. Just in case you care.

Morning Moon

(Look! It's light when I go to work now! Of course, it's dark when I get home...)

Alive Awake Alert Enthusiastic

This garter snake was awake and active this afternoon. (Although... after being surrounded by 20 first and second graders, it will probably head immediately into its den just to avoid all those feet!) Garter snakes hibernate, but they are among the most cold-tolerant of all snakes, emerging early in the spring and staying active into the colder days of autumn (as evidenced here). When they do finally hibernate, they do so in large groups, all "cuddled up" to keep warm. Males emerge from hibernation first, and await the waking of the females, who basically get jumped as soon as they see the light of day. :) (Actually, females often get their choice of males...) In the summer, babies are born live -- and as many as 30 at a time. Fun stuff.