A Warm Winter's Walk

I was all set to do laundry today until I heard the weather forecast - mostly sunny and warm, with the high temps approaching 60. so naturally I heard the call of the wild and decided the laundry could wait until tomorrow, when it's supposed to rain. Off I went to my favorite places.

Ballard Park

I found some very interesting fungi growing on this one log beside one of the trails in the park. This first one may be a convoluted Oyster Mushroom, but I'm not sure.

Here's what's known as an Artist's Fungus in a macro shot from above:

And another macro of a different Artist's Fungus taken from the side:

I call this next one "Winter Bouquet". These are the remains of some White Wood Asters from the Fall:

And as I was leaving the park this female Cardinal bid me farewell:

Gooseneck Cove

Down on Hazard Rd. along Gooseneck Cove I ran into two fellow birders, one of whom I bump into a lot. this guy likes to feed the ducks cracked corn in the Winter, so the ducks know his car and swim up close in anticipation of goodies. We had a clear view of the gang of Mallards who usually hang out here on the upper Cove, and the two fellow birders pointed out a very odd duck to me - a hybrid cross between Mallard and Pintail. You can read more about this duck and see some more pictures here.

 Down the road and around the corner by the Green Bridge on the Ocean Drive end of the Cove this male Bufflehead was swimming around:

And as I was leaving the area this very noisy gaggle of Canadian Geese flew bu overhead:

And that was my walk today!