Observations

During Fall I really appreciate finding the many colorful forms of mushrooms popping up through the woods, along the roadsides, and places where you would least expect them.

Such sights always bring back pleasant memories of the various field trips I took while taking a course in Mycology at university level and how that led to a life-long appreciation of the diverse forms of mushrooms, moulds and yeasts which are indeed ubiquitous. It has been shown that moulds, in particular, can grow on anything!!

Today as I walked across the lawn, I saw an interesting ring of glossy, coppery-brown colored mushrooms. The cap of each mushroom was about 4 cm in diameter, convex in shape overall but depressed in the middle with white underlying gills . They looked to be of the clitocybe genus but to verify that I really should do a spore print to determine whether the spores are brown or white. It is amazing to think that one mushroom may give off as many as one million spores in order to propagate. I remember the many lab sessions, late into the night where I had to look at spores to determine an unknown specimen of fungus – in that case a mould rather than a mushroom.   To get an idea of the size and possible appearance of spores you can go to: spores.

When I taught grade six, we had a lot of fun exploring fungi- especially mushrooms.   We approached the topic in an interdisciplinary manner where students investigated the role of mushrooms in an ecosystem – nature’s decomposers-   and in doing so used various process skills such as observation, measurement, communication, recording, etc. as they studied the different forms we viewed. They really enjoyed making spore prints and discovered that one cannot always assume that gills will shoot off the same coloured spores as their gill colour.   A teacher can tie this Science topic to all areas of the curriculum: e.g. Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Art, Health, Nutrition.   I am sure that one could even work in P.E. if one tried. We concluded the unit by making a collection of art forms – drawings, sculptures etc, to represent the many specimens we had explored.

I think their favorite mushroom type was Coprinus which they found fascinating due to the inky substance given off as the gills mature and break down. In olden days, this mushroom   was used to supply ink for writing. They also were impressed with the   Lactarius type which would produce beads of a white milky substance as I ran my finger nail across the gills.

All in all, this topic is a good one to facilitate many outcomes of our NS curricula in a hands-on inquiry manner.

Today was one of those beautiful bright sunny days when one feels glad to be alive. In the afternoon, I took my seminar book out to the deck to read while enjoying the beautiful weather. However, I was soon distracted by a few young ones -not far away--calling boisterously to someone or something. The sounds persisted and piqued my curiosity. When I got up to investigate, I noticed the sounds were coming from the upper branches of a nearby pine tree. There I detected a cup-shaped nest with two or three lively young robins-American Robin! (also Project NestWatch link).

It appeared as if they were squabbling with each other-like many young siblings do! How cute they were! The boisterous sounds continued until Mumma Robin swooped in to the nest. Soon I could see her feeding each little one by inserting her beak into the mouth of each. These feedings were quick little jerky motions but how they satisfied each little critter. Silence soon replaced their shrill calls. It was fascinating to watch them feed and I thought of the commitment of all young mothers -animal and human-in striving to feed their young ones. In a matter of a minute or so, Mumma flew out of the nest-no doubt off to find more food for the next feeding of her hungry fledglings. The little ones, for now, chirped more contentedly and after watching for a few more moments, I went back to the reading of my book. This was a delightful moment in the busyness of a day. Nature has so many fascinating moments to offer if one will take the time to accept them.

Tonight was a warm but enjoyable evening. As dusk fell, we went for a walk down to the lighthouse-both to enjoy the beauty of the evening and also to walk off our hearty supper. The sky, overlooking the Minas Basin, was beautifully painted with rosy reds and mauves and slate blues. What a beautiful setting! I think sometimes I take this for granted, and need to make more time for such walks. As it grew darker, our eyes were drawn to Jupiter, a bright point of light in the southwestern sky-a lovely jewel indeed. But then we were soon distracted by another bright, moving light-crossing from the southwest just above Jupiter, arching across the southern part of the sky into the northeast. It was the International Space Station

moving rapidly along reflecting light from the sun! It was rather neat to watch this journey thinking that three astronauts were inside making a 90-minute journey around the earth. Wow, I certainly wish I could take such a fast shuttle out to the west coast and be there in minutes! We watched the station for about 5 minutes until it gradually entered the Earth's shadow and dimmed until it was obliterated. During this month there will be many opportunities to view the station in the evening sky- not always so each month -but I know that I can always check this home site or www.heavens-above.com and enter my location to find times and directions for viewing the station. It is always neat to share a sighting of the space station with others. I remember doing this during a Science Fair night at school. It was a big hit! Hopefully many parents and students have consulted the web sites and now can locate it themselves

August 15, 2005: 21:12 ADT from Penny Beach ( a beach overlooking the Minas Basin) I observed Venus, Jupiter and the quarter moon along the ecliptic in the western sky. Venus was really brilliant- like a chunk of diamond in the sky . The tide was fully in and the sky over the water was crimson and mauve.

What was really magical about tonight was hearing the semi-palmated sandpipers roosting further down across the beach. They sounded like the rush of water in a swiftly running brook. When I cupped my ears, it was truly amazing how much louder and more distinct the sounds were. Sherman could also hear occasionally some of the birds taking to wing. In the foreground I could hear a few birds peeping. I wonder if the sandpipers will feed at night when the tide goes out.

Sandpipers are such amazing shorebirds. It is always an impressive sight when I see the huge flocks flying - like a peppery wave sweeping low to the water and then -+making a sharp turn in another direction, just like an undulating wave. Truly synchronized flying, I'd say. How do they know how to do this? Soon I will hear them flying overhead in the night sky as they migrate south. I always like to hear this sound in the quiet dark of the night when I am lying in bed just before sleep with the window wide open. Migrating birds, owls, coyotes - all night sounds I sometimes hear as I am drifting off to sleep.