A few summers ago, we discovered a lovely black and white wasp going back and forth from a hole in our deck railing. Once we observed her bringing a green caterpillar into the hole, and we realised she was leaving food for her young for when they hatched. The wasp had blackish blue wings and was black except for some white stripes and spots on her body.
A look in our copy of Insects, by Donald H. Borror and Richard E. White told us the wasp we'd seen was a potter wasp. Most wasps in this subfamily are black with yellow or white markings, and many species are quite common. Some species nest in burrows or natural cavities, whereas others build nests out of mud. As we discovered, the nests are usually provisioned with caterpillars.
Potter wasps, also known as mason wasps, may have white, yellow, orange, or red markings, according to EverythingAbout.net (http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/insects/wasps/potter_wasp/).
They are called potter wasps because of the shape of nest some of them build. They mainly like temperate regions, and may be found throughout the northern hemisphere. Some will choose abandoned bee or wasp nests for their young, whilst others will nest in the ground or in hollow plant stalks. They are related to hornets, yellow jackets, and paper wasps.
We used to get small, red-capped toadstools underneath the dogwood tree in the front garden
-- haven't seen them for an age, but we had them for about three years in a row, back before we had a proper camera with which to take their picture.
We discovered, through searching our copy of Mushrooms, by Kent H. McKnight and Vera B. McKnight, that these were fragile brittlegill. Though the colour can vary from dark pink to strong yellowish-pink, dark greyish-purple, or dark to moderate red, ours were invariably moderate red. The caps, according to Mushrooms, are often touched with bits of greyish-olive or pale greyish-yellow.
The odour also varies; it can be indistinct, unpleasant, or even apple-like. We never noticed an odour coming from ours. Maybe we didn't get close enough.
Our brittlegills always seemed to pop out in the summer, though you can also see them in the autumn. We would see them scattered in the grass when we took the rubbish bin out to the roadside and back -- always in that same little patch of ground. Solitary brittlegill may be found, as well. They like soil or well-rotted wood in hardwood, coniferous, or mixed forests. Ours were in the grass, so they must have been enjoying the soil.
The stalk of the fragile brittlegill is white, cylindrical, dry to moist, and either smooth or with vertical wrinkles. Ours appeared smooth. We didn't take apart any of them, so we don't know what the stalks were like on the inside, but according to Mushrooms, they may be solid or contain cottony filaments.
The gills are pale yellowish (though we didn't get a good look at ours), and the cap convex, sometimes with a small central hump at first. When wet, it will turn sticky.
The image is from Google Images (https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1024&bih=643&q=raccoon&oq=raccoon&gs_l=img.1.0.0l10.1423.2573.0.5313.7.4.0.3.3.0.69.194.4.4.0...0.0.0..1ac.1.17.img.8jZ6Wjg_tWY#hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=fragile+brittlegill+mushroom&oq=fragile+brittlegill+mushroom&gs_l=img.3...2758888.2768442.0.2768893.34.28.0.4.4.2.136.1215.26j1.27.0...0.0.0..1c.1.17.img.bMwxQPqyqvg&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.48293060,d.eWU&fp=4bdfcf4ffb0aa612&biw=1024&bih=600&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=iRTrDeuwif0BVM%3A%3Bkk2Nm8k-eoetbM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwarehouse1.indicia.org.uk%252Fupload%252Fmed-p17b6728ervji12v41e2294taa824.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.naturespot.org.uk%252Ftaxonomy%252Fterm%252F19708%3B500%3B578).
It may not actually be a fragile brittlegill, but it was the closest we found.
Years ago, back when we would keep the doors open to let in the summer breeze, we got an unexpected visitor. We heard some clamour in the kitchen and, thinking it was our cat, Trouble, went out to see what she'd got into this time. (She was, after all, named 'Trouble' for a reason.)
It wasn't Trouble, at least not with a capital 't.' It was a raccoon, and he'd not only spilt Trouble's water, but tasted her food and then climbed up onto the counter, and from there reached the top of the refrigerator, where we kept the bread. The butter, which was kept on the counter, had been knocked over onto the floor. Trouble was in the corner, eyes wide, watching the raccoon with her back arched and her tail fluffy, being very quiet.
The raccoon darted back outside upon seeing us; but he took the bread with him. We chased after, called out, 'Hey! That's OUR bread!'; whereupon he promptly let go his catch and escaped into the night.
Unfortunately, the new loaf of bread was ruined, having been punctured by raccoon teeth. The butter, too, was a loss, as it had smashed unceremoniously on the kitchen floor.
Raccoons are notorious for getting into places they shouldn't, and, being quite bold, won't hesitate to come indoors if they think for a second that you won't catch them at it. They're quite clever with their hands and can open things you might not expect them to. They're also vicious fighters; our dad told us they're strong enough to drown a dog should one follow them into the water; so Trouble was very smart, keeping her distance as she did.
According to our copy of Mammals, by William H. Burt and Richard P. Grossenheider, raccoons can weigh up to 35 pounds. They may be identified by the black mask-like pattern around their eyes and the rings on their tails. They have five toes on each paw, walk on the entire paw, and have non-retractile claws. Mainly, they're nocturnal, but they can be seen during the day, and we have seen them on sunny days on more than one occasion.
Raccoons are omnivorous, eating grains, frogs, crayfish, insects, bird eggs, fruits, nuts, and pretty much anything they can get out of a rubbish bin. They mostly feed by streams and lakes, and may dip their food in water.
Usually, they den in hollow trees, but they may also den in hollow logs, rock crevices, or ground burrows. They do not hibernate.
We got the image above from Google Images (https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1024&bih=643&q=raccoon&oq=raccoon&gs_l=img.1.0.0l10.1423.2573.0.5313.7.4.0.3.3.0.69.194.4.4.0...0.0.0..1ac.1.17.img.8jZ6Wjg_tWY).
We have numerous poplar trees in our yard, and the number seems to grow by the year. Poplars have always been favoured by our family; they're beautiful (as all trees are), taller than any other eastern forest tree, and have a terrific, spicy scent when you crush their buds or leaves. One of our poplars was felled in a storm one year, and the buds rubbed against other trees as it crashed down; the entire area was fragrant.
Poplar trees are also called 'tuliptrees' because of their tulip-like blossoms, which are orange and pale green to yellow. The trees flower from May to June. These flowers, along with green leaves, often fall in storms. Other names for this tree include 'yellow poplar' and 'tulip poplar,' although it is actually a relative of magnolias and not closely related to true poplars.
These trees grow straight and may reach a height of 50-100 feet, with a diameter of two to six feet. Their leaves are six to ten inches. Their seeds are eaten by songbirds and squirrels. The fruits grow clustered together in an upright cone-like structure about three inches long; they are winged and whitish, about one to two inches long individually. Yellow poplars are the state tree of Indiana. Their leaves turn golden yellow in autumn.
We got the photo from State Symbols U.S.A. (http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Indiana/Tree_tulip_poplar.html).
The information, aside from what we knew already, was gleaned from Eastern Trees, by George A. Petrides and Janet Wehr, statesymbolsusa.org, and the Arbor Day Foundation (http://www.arborday.org/treeguide/treeDetail.cfm?id=25).
