Autumn equals fungi time!

My good intentions to blog have been undermined by a sooner-than-intended upgrade to Windows 10. Once upon a time I upgraded to new operating systems without blinking but Windows 8 left me floundering and I've been reluctant to try again. Great to see that Microsoft has listened to the world and I'm very relieved that my Windows 10 upgrade went smoothly. I've just about finished installing software (all going well except for Adobe Premiere Elements v8 which I've had to remove) and transferring files so that I can finally retire my trusty Windows 7 workhorse.

I've decided that I can't be productive when I don't try new features so I'm going to take a few months' break from blogging about Rakiura once I've finished processing the backlog of photos. Instead I'll blog about my exciting adventures on the computer. I'm too addicted to Mother Nature's offerings to shun her completely but I'm hoping I can spice it up with some fancy new ways of showing her off.

Autumn time is usually a fun time for me as I explore my bit of bush for the fungi popping up. I'm amazed at how the spores sit in the ground just waiting for the right conditions to come along. How do they know that our calendar has ticked over to March, especially when Spring and early Summer were cold and wet? Here's a selection of the amazing fungi that's around - I'll label those that I can but I could well be wrong...

Entoloma hochstetteri (Blue pinkgill)

Weraroa virescens (Spindle pouch)

Ringed fungi of some kind - gill structure shown below

?Hygrocybe rubrocarnosa (Rare waxgill)

?Mycena spp

Hmm... maybe Tremella mesenterica (Witch's butter jelly)

Coprinopsis spp (Revolute inkcap)

Close-up of above

A different kind of yellow

We had settled weather at the end of October and I took advantage of the lighter evenings to check out the road-side banks on the way home. The dandelions are shooting forth and I won't have time this year to spend hours weeding them out. Nice to see the orchids appearing and every now and then a surprise is lurking for those who look closely.

What's that between the dandelions?

Ahh, yellow fungi with a concave top and frilly white bottom

It's a gilled fungi but I haven't been able to identify
it yet - Autumn is a more common time

Top view showing the deep concave cap

Another object with a distinctive shape is a dragon fruit, Hylocereus undatus, a species of cacti. Our 4 Square supermarket often has some of the more exotic fruits and vegetables and the dragon fruit had novelty appeal despite their cost. After being asked several times what they tasted like, I decided that the only way to know was to try it out.

Half a dragon fruit - the outside

The edible bit!

It's not easy describing the subtle taste but it is refreshing with a texture similar to watermelon. I do know that I find gold kiwifruit more appealing though and I could get a kilogram for the same money. Perhaps dragon fruit have a lot more taste in Asia and the Americas.

The weather had a wintry turn on 29 October; I was out checking my traps when a 10 minute hailstorm turned the track to white. No wonder the fungi are confused!

Greenhood orchids

Spider orchid chilling out

Puawhananga, the native clematis (Clematis paniculata), continues to flower and now the bush lawyer is laden with clumps of sweet-smelling blossom.

Close-up of bush lawyer flower - perfection!

The huge blossoms of the native bush lawyer

Early daylight saving

I start work at 7am on Monday which could be a shock to the system if I put my clock forward on Saturday night. For the last couple of years I've started daylight saving a day earlier than everyone else but never two days like this year. I just need to keep away from my computer and television schedule until Sunday morning.

A few greenhood orchids have made an appearance at last but they have a way to catch up with some spider orchids which are in full flower.

Emerging Pterostylis (Greenhood orchid) - 20 September 2015

Flowering spider orchid

It's coming up to barberry hunt time; Darwin's barberry was brought to the island by the early settlers but I'm sure they didn't realise how quickly it would become a weed that threatened our native bush. The birds love the berries but then spread the plant throughout the bush where it is flourishing in a wide variety of environments - sunny, shady, wet, dry. In some places it grows so densely that all native growth is suppressed. The Department of Conservation advertises each Spring for temporary field workers to form a barberry team with a long-term aim to eradicate the weed on the island. I've been checking out my section and found a number of small seedlings; it's much easier to spot when it flowers but hopefully I haven't got any plants big enough for that.

The tui are getting more active - here are some feeding on a pussy willow tree down in Halfmoon Bay...

...and a few interesting things that I've come across as I've checked my traps.

Slime mould on tree stump

A fly feeding on slime - I wonder if it hatched out of the cases below

Second month of Winter

The hail/sleet is beating against the west side of the house for the last few hours of my long weekend. I was lucky to get some fine weather for the start of it otherwise I'd be feeling frustrated that I hadn't achieved more.

July started with a flurry of activity at work as Sam and Charlotte headed over to the mainland a month earlier than expected when their daughter, Esjay Bella, decided that it was time for a birthday. Congratulations to the new parents - and also to 4 Square who celebrated their 91st birthday on 4 July.

Starting my weekend with delivery of 20 bags of potting mix, a ute-load of pallets and a heap of tarpaulins meant that I had plenty to do. The woodboxes took priority and I've now got 5 areas to put the wood to dry although I may have to add more tarps if this horizontal rain doesn't let up!

Sides and a roof should give this woodbox more protection from the elements

Pallets are easy for me to manhandle and webbing straps are great for
joining them together

One of the logs I brought in for burning had some interesting fungi growing on it. I was trying to get some in-focus pics when I spotted a couple of small critters wandering among the fungi.

Grey-coloured collembola middle right - and a white one bottom left

Fluffy white fungi with yellow 'loops'

The white fungi looked like miniature cottonwool trees

Is it a bug? Is it a beetle? About 1.5mm long.

Fungi and critter

I'm dogsitting my friend's Cairn Terrier, Mac, for a week. I'm not quite sure what you do with dogs between walks and feeding times but so far Mac has been very well behaved and sleeps like a log through the night. I have a 7am start tomorrow so another friend has kindly taken Mac tonight and I'll catch up with him again after work.

Mac and Beau enjoying the sunshine after a walk

Winter solstice

My four-day weekends are a lot more productive and it's great to see actual progress happening on the section despite the soggy conditions. The winter storm that brought flooding to many parts of Aotearoa whipped over Rakiura on Wednesday night and although we've had about 10mm rain most days for a week or so, it's far less than New Plymouth (96mm yesterday) and Whanganui with 88mm. Kia kaha to all those affected by the flooding and I hope the sun shines soon for you.

It was also interesting comparing sunrise/sunset times (found on the MetService website) for the shortest day...
        Auckland: sunrise 7.34am, sunset 5.12pm
New Plymouth: sunrise 7.42am, sunset 5.08pm
      Wellington: sunrise 7.45am, sunset 5.01pm
   Christchurch: sunrise 8.02am, sunset 5.01pm
     Invercargill: sunrise 8.31am, sunset 5.06pm
...I thought both sunrise and sunset times would be affected but looks like we just miss out on an hour of light in the morning!

I was on firewood duty again this weekend; I sawed, stacked and moved a heap of branches and also put a roof on the lean-to and made a couple of covered drying areas out of pallets and tarpaulins.

Tools of the trade for cutting up the branches

New roof on the lean-to plus a drying area for kindling

Pallets come in really useful for makeshift woodsheds

I hadn't intended clearing this area behind the woodshed but I could have a load of soil being delivered so needed to move it out of the way...

This heap has now gone - most of it to the large woodpile on the drive

Of course, working with wet and rotting wood means that there are photo opportunities too!

Hedgehog jelly, Pseudohydnum gelatinosum

Yellow slime mould with 'wriggler' and pink collembola

Unusual fungi - haven't worked out what this one is yet

Bright yellow fungi - looks like sulphur

My little friend checking out the sawhorse

A watery sun hiding behind the rimu trees at 10.30am - it doesn't rise in
the sky very much at this time of year

A native weevil - identified by Stephen on NatureWatch as a species
of Psepholax or Pit weevil

Noticeable ginger facial 'hair'