A Sea Star hoarding their Dollars....can't trust the sand bank!!! I believe this Ochre sea star, Pisaster ochraceus, was actually making a meal of these sand dollars. Observed today at low tide at Kopachuck State Park, Washington State. #SeaStar #Kopachuck #Beach #SandDollars #Photography

A moss bell duo. Having some fun playing with shallow depth of field. #FungiFriends #Fungi #Moss #Photography

Today was spent mostly exploring fungi in beds of moss. Check out these moss bells. #FungiFriends #Fungi #Moss Repost with higher resolution picture.

A pair of bird's nest fungi nestled amongst the mosses. #Fungi #Photography #FungiFriday #BirdsNest #FungiFriends #Moss

A couple more focus stacked shots from today's visit to the forest. #FungiFriends #Fungi #Photography

A couple more shots of another section of the mica cap fungi found today. These shots better exemplify one of my top 3 favorite words, #Deliquesce, or to become liquid, related to decomposition. Which is what the inky caps are known for & aids in spore dispersal. #FungiFriends #Fungi #Photography

Todays fungi group photo is the mica cap, Coprinellus micaceus. #EdibleFungi The species is great at #Bioaccumulating heavy metals so while they might be delicately tasty, if you plan on consuming be mindful of where you collect. #FungiFriends #Photography

The log that keeps on giving. All of these were found on the same log that always has something interesting going on. Today at least 2 distinct species of slime mold and 2 fungi, including a pair of tiny eyelash cup fungi, Scutellinia scutellata. #FungiFriends #SlimeMold #Fungi

The Leather Star, Dermasterias imbricata. Found in typical dramatic pose while contending with a retreating tide. #SalishSea #SeaStar #LeatherStar #Intertidal 7 more cuties seen 👇

A Pacific Banana Slug napping while guarding their clutch of #Round Wolf's Milk slime mold. #PacificBananaSlug #Slug #Nature #BlueSkyArtShow #SlimeMold

A colony of Aggregating Anemone, Anthopleura elegantissima, found growing prolifically on a boulder at Sunrise Beach Park, Washington State just before sunset. #Anemone #Nature #Surf #Intertidal #SalishSea

Leather Star, Dermasterias imbricata found along the seashore at Sunrise Beach Park Washington State tonight just before sunset. #SeaStar #Nature #Surf #Intertidal #SalishSea

A couple observations from today's excursion into the woods. #FungiFriends #Fungi #Mycology

Old stumps contain multitudes! This shot is predominantly focused on the Trumpet Lichen, Cladonia fimbriata. #Lichen #LikenLichen #FungiFriends #Fungi #Moss #MossMates

A bird staring directly through my camera lens into my very soul gives me the stink eye, wondering why in the world I would deign to invade their space. So Sorry!! I believe this bird giving me the side eye is a female Dark Eyed Junco (Oregon). #BackYardBirdWatching #BirdSky #Nature

I've been trying to catch a decent picture of this Steller's Jay for awhile now. It never fails they're only docile & posing when I don't have my camera with me & as soon as I go grab it they're gone. Gray weather & jerky movements don't make for easy snaps. #Birdsky #Nature #Photography

Last one! While it's one of my favorite shots, the subjects aren't everyone's cup-o-tea. A pair of post-coitus Pacific Banana Slugs. #BlueSkyArtShow #Two #PacificBananaSlug #YinYang

This was a fun exercise, going through the many pictures I've never posted. I know it's supposed to just be a single picture per post but I couldn't narrow the fungi down. Sorry! #BlueSkyArtShow #Two #Fungi

A pair of sea stars freshly exposed by the outgoing tide. #BlueSkyArtShow #Two #StarFish #Beach #LeatherStar

A pair of alpaca's butts seen at Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos in the Atacama Desert of Chile. #BlueSkyArtShow #Two #Desert

With all the rain today we skipped the forest and were able to enjoy a rain-free sunset at Sunrise Beach Park, Gig Harbor. #Nature #Beach #Sunset #SalishSea #PugetSound #Driftwood A few pictures of some of the odd new trunks that have recently shown up can be seen below.

More from todays cold hike in the forest. We found this decent sized clutch of jelly tooth fungus, Pseudohydnum gelatinosum ssp. pusillum. #FungiFriends #Fungi #CatsTongue #JellyTooth

Having some more fun animating sequential images. I love how the quick slight perspective shift makes the fungi almost pop out of the image. In this case, the wrinkled club fungus, Clavulina rugosa. A few still shots of this interesting fungi can be found below. #FungiFriends #Fungi #Animation

Fairy footsteps. 🧚‍♀️🍄 #fungifriends

A bird in the hand… An Anna’s hummingbird resting in my hand before being released back outside. Story in #AltText #Birdsky #Nature #Hummingbird #BackyardBirding

Tahoma, through the limbs of a fallen bigleaf maple's trunk in the process of being reclaimed by the Salish Sea. #BlueskyArtshow #Wood #Tahoma #SalishSea #MtRainier #PugetSound

A couple observations from today 📸1: #HotStick! Variable Otsterling, Crepidotus variabilis covered stick. 📸2: Don't forget to look up! 📸3: Orange Jelly, Dacrymyces chrysospermus. AKA Orange Witches Butter. 📸4: Panoramic shot of Winston in the local cedar dominant forest. #Fungi #FungiFriends

A grouping of Black Earth Tongue, unsure exactly what species but possibly Geoglossum umbratile. #FungiFriends #Fungi #MushroomMonday

I believe this to be a Ramaria stricta. Found today on our walk in the forest. Check out those yellow tips! #FungiFriends #Fungi #MushroomMonday

Found a pair of way-out-of-season Cinnamon webcap, Cortinarius cinnamomeus. Dehydrated and stashed for future dyeing purposes. #FungiFriends #Fungi #Dyeing

A couple observations from this weekend. 📸1/2: A couple of fun cup fungus, likely Pseudoplectania melaena. 📸3/4: Yellowfoot fungi, Craterellus tubaeformis #FungiFriends #Fungi

A fungi among friends. #FungiFriends #Moss #MossMates #Fungi

Yellowfoot, Craterellus tubaeformis, has a mutation, maybe rosecomb. Over the past few days I've observed a large portion (30/110) of this species has had some sort of deformity with their gills all curly and/or gills forming on top. A few pics 👇 #FungiFriends #Fungi #Mycology #CurlyGills

My favorite animation so far. This one is of 6 focus stacked images as I slowly exposed this gorgeous #Amanita. It took a grand total of 62 images taken over a 5 minute period to create this. Needless to say the sun came out to play today. #FungiFriends #Mycology #Fungi #Nature

Foraging a grouping of Yellowfoot, Craterellus tubaeformis. #Foraging #FungiFriends #Fungi Some of these were surprisingly sturdy. These in powder form have become one of my favorite cooking add-ins. I used a couple tablespoons in a French onion soup again yesterday and it really added some depth.

Today is Winston's 11th birthday! He spent it out in the forest smelling the smells, leaving some of his own and meeting a few people along the way, with plenty of mossy beds to relax in as I took in the mushrooms. #Dogs #MossyBeds #Moss

Some observations made in the forest this week. #FungiFriends A few bonnets, a smattering of cup fungi and an odd amanita. #Fungi #MossMates #Nature

#HotStick or maybe #HotTwig is more apt. I spy at least 3 species of #Lichen including the massive fruiting bodies or #Apothecia of the leafy lichen, that looks like a Freckled Tube Lichen, Hypogymnia krogiae. #LikenLichen #FungiFriday #Fungi #Algae #AltText

Tree lungwort, Lobaria pulmonaria. #Lichen A lichen that's the amalgamation of a cyanobacteria, fungus & green algae species. Found at Kopachuck State Park Washington State #FungiFriends #FungiFriday #LikenLichen Hanging out with some moss mates on a tree slowly being claimed by the Salish Sea.

A couple of fungi buddies hanging out in the forest. A glowing Yellowfoot stands proud with their Ear-pick fungus compatriot. A 3rd fungi, a group of yellow jelly fungus growing on a stick are just peeking out from below the right side of the Yellowfoot's cap. #FungiFriends #Fungi #ALTText

Boop! 📸🍄 🌱 #Fungi

Possible Western Panther, Amanita pantherinoides. Found this weekend along with another 2 specimens seen below. #FungiFriends #Fungi

This is my first Split Gill sighting in quitr awhile. Such an fun name...Schizophyllum commune. #FungiFriends #Fungi #Mycology A bonus bud sighting, I believe this was a coastal willow, Salix hookeriana. #BudScrolling

I love finding fungi taking up residence in cones. #FungiFriends #Fungi #Mycology

Toothed Jelly Fungus, Pseudohydnum gelatinosum. Alternate names include Cat's Tongue fungus and False Hedgehog. #FungiFriday #FungiFriends #Edible While edible it wasn't far enough off the trail to snack on for me.

2 old men strolling in the forest on a surprisingly warm February day. We had just passed a wonderful older couple we see regularly. She always has homemade dog treats to give out to good pups along the trail. Treats, trails and people, a good reason for being. #Dog #Hiking #Nature

A few observations from the N Olympic Peninsula. The first 3 were all found on the same rotted meter tall snag. The last are the remnants of one of my favorites, the Ghost Plant, Monotropa uniflora, a non-photosynthesizing plant. #FungiFriends #FungiFriday #StumpGazer #myco-heterotroph

Take a gander at these sea birds, all in a row drifting on a log with the outgoing tide. A less tasty rendition of the snack Ants on a Log.🐜🥜🌱 That's Tahoma, aka Mt. Rainier, majestically rising from the aerosols in the far background, with the Port of Tacoma backdropped by them. #Tahoma #SalishSea

Join me surfside at Rialto Beach enjoying the thunderous foamy waves at high tide. The Pacific coast of Washington is stupid gorgeous with soo many old growth trunks just bobbing along and getting buried along the rocky beaches. #OlympicNationalPark #Beach #Pacific #RialtoBeach #HighTide

Can you spot the Sea Otter? It looked like they were using a rock to break open and feast on their tasty morsels. Seen in the surf off Rialto Beach, a disparate coastal component of Olympic National Park. #SeaOtter #OlympicNationalPark #RialtoBeach