Now that I'm back home in semi-arid heat, the cool sea breezes and dense woods of Maine seem like they're on a different planet.
I've blogged before about the glorious fungi you can see on almost any woodland hike up there...downright amazing what kinds of stuff can, and do, grow when you get ample rainfall! And this visit's hikes didn't disappoint in that regard, either. The spectacular specimen you see above was spotted on our hike in Rines Forest, along with several other great examples of the breed:
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| ghost pipes! |
I'd seen fungi growing out of dead trees before (these sights are wonderful "other things to see in a redwood forest") but I don't think I'd ever seen this much on one log before...WOW!
Another great hike took us to Robinson Woods Preserve...there are so many great hiking places within a short drive of Portland! These woods had great fungi on offer, too...
...as well as some lovely vernal pools—clear evidence of the abundance of moisture blessing this part of the world...
But there's another type of flora (although, however much they might resemble plants, I do know that fungi are a separate kingdom) that I was quite taken with on some of our other outings, particularly those that took us to the beaches. Seaweed! Lots of it was washed up on several of the coastlines I showed you in a previous post, and I just couldn't seem to stop snapping photos of it.
Closeups...
...panoramas...
And put the exotic, photogenic weeds next to the lovely Maine coastal rocks, and you just can't beat this for micro-scenery...
Here's a closeup of this scenic symbiosis:
Yessiree! Traveling to see things you can't see at home...I'm so lucky to get to do this!
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