Fast Forward

 Too busy.  Can't keep my priorities straight.  Here's the evidence.  I'm not finished with posting photos and story about last weekend's hike on the Keddie Cascades Trail.  I've made three posts on the leaves along the trail, but am not finished with the text.  I've yet to post the final episode about the fungi along that trail.  I'll get to it though.

But today, I was paid a wonderful visit by my friends from Paradise, Spencer and Dalynn.  We had a rousing conversation at breakfast which alone was probably the equivalent of several cups of coffee as far as brain stimulus is concerned.  Spencer and Dalynn are also naturalists.  It's not often that I get to hike with people who see things before I do.  Great fun.  The Amanita muscaria above was spotted first by Dalynn.  Spencer and I were getting our feet wet exploring the Darlingtonia bog while Dalynn kept to the drier woods.

 My favorite sighting of the day was this spider, spotted first by Dalynn.  It looks like one of the orb weavers I often find on my porch, but prettier.

 This was the first time I've visited Butterfly Valley in the Fall, and I found the subtle colors of the Pitcher Plant intriguing. 

 There was no one else in sight, and finally yielded to an urge I've had for several years.  I cut open the bottom of a leaf to inspect the "belly full" of insects.   I only cut one, and there will be more pictures of it in my next post. 

 This plant is amazing.  Click on it for a closer view.  I'm getting sleepy now.  As soon as I got home I had to move a lot of my firewood under cover as rain and snow are expected tonight.  When I returned to the house,  I found a tiny jumping spider on the dining room table.

My next few days are rather tightly scheduled, but I plan to finish up the Keddie Cascades posts, then probably have two or three more on today's Butterfly Valley trip.  Fall is a great time for photography and for seeing the less well known parts of lots of life cycles.  We each saw several things for the first time, and we agreed that the wonderful thing about practicing natural history is there is no possible way we'll ever run out of new things to experience.  Check out Spencer's great photos at Spencer Dykstra Photography.