It occurred to me that this header sounds like a Jefferson Airplane cover tune… Shifting gears…
Overnight, very
Whitely, discreetly,
Very quietly…We shall by morning
Inherit the earth.
Our foot’s in the door.Mushrooms, Sylvia Plath
(enjoy the complete poem at the bottom of the post)
Thanks to Outdoor Hour Challenges at the Handbook of Nature Study and our fav science curriculum Apologia’s Exploring Creation series, the Garners pay a lot more attention to the beautiful world upon which God has planted us! This morning when we did our pre-walk check of our Black Swallowtail Nursery (otherwise known as a fennel plant) we found 16 baby (teeny) caterpillars, plus one in a chrysalis and one getting ready 
- Teeny – really!
to form a chrysalis, and three other caterpillars of various ages chowing down. We have been expecting the chrysalis because the plumpest caterpillar attached himself to a leaf and formed an upside down ” J” which we now recognize as a sort of preparation period before forming the chrysalis. We are pretty excited about how much we are learning about the behavior and life cycle of this truly amazing creature simply through frequent and consistent observation – thanks to the fennel plant!
On our morning walk, we passed our neighbor’s house where lantana is blooming at various spots around the perimeter of her fence! We snapped a few photos of some small skipper butterflies, I think a fiery skipper, and a dragon fly.
Further down the road, Mr. Garner and I found three different types of mushrooms growing within 30 yards of each other! The first ones were sort of cute, so I snapped a picture on my phone (which I bring all the time on the walks now – in case I see something for the Outdoor Hour Summer Photo Challenge Pinterest board!) Then we noticed another set, shaped completely differently. Another half a block and there were more! Once you start looking there are just all sorts of interesting things! We hope to identify these mushrooms using a page on David Fischer’s American Mushrooms site called Common Lawn and Garden Mushrooms.
What have you seen on your morning walks?
Mushrooms, by Sylvia Plath
Overnight, very
Whitely, discreetly,
Very quietlyOur toes, our noses
Take hold on the loam,
Acquire the air.Nobody sees us,
Stops us, betrays us;
The small grains make room.Soft fists insist on
Heaving the needles,
The leafy bedding,Even the paving.
Our hammers, our rams,
Earless and eyeless,Perfectly voiceless,
Widen the crannies,
Shoulder through holes. WeDiet on water,
On crumbs of shadow,
Bland-mannered, askingLittle or nothing.
So many of us!
So many of us!We are shelves, we are
Tables, we are meek,
We are edible,Nudgers and shovers
In spite of ourselves.
Our kind multiplies:We shall by morning
Inherit the earth.
Our foot’s in the door.
Rabbit Trails 
First line–LOL.
My digital camera died. What kind do you use? You take such awesome photos (of course, I know a lot has to do with the talent of the photographer, not the equipment, but I need all of the help I can get!)
We have an older Sony digital camera with a great zoom lens – but I don’t use it nearly as much as I used to. I use my HTC Incredible 2. For some reason, this phone has a great camera, and it’s infinitely more portable. The Garner Boys smart phones have truly pathetic cameras – but they text and play games really well. Sigh.
I never thought I’d prefer my phone to take pictures, anymore than I would choose to call someone on the camera – but hey – it’s a new world!
Actually laughed out loud at the Jefferson Airplane comment. 🙂 Beautiful post and pics. Also love the poem from Plath.
They may be parasol shrooms. we love the mushroom hunt. The smell of them drying is like an elves house. Do a spore print , cut it and look at it carefully, under a tree? old wood ect. and the kids will learn to id edibles!
Thanks for the visit!