iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Turkey Vulture spent a solid four hours perched on a utility pole outside my kitchen window this morning :)

Photograph of a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) perched on the top crossbar of a utility pole. The pole is old and made of wood, and there are mosses and lichens growing on it. The background is a forested hillside, out of focus. The Vulture is backlit by sunlight, perched on the left side of the crossbar; their back is toward the camera, and their head is facing right. Their attitude is alert and contemplative.

Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

No fox videos today - I try to minimize how often I make trips to their den area, so I waited a day to replace the trail cam SD card. In the meantime, please enjoy this video of a Hairy Woodpecker mama feeding her big hungry son. More fox kits tomorrow!

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Rewatching Midnight Mass. Coast Redwoods on Crockett Island?

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Meatghost @danjohnson.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

We have red foxes under our shed this year.

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Brett "Solidarity 2026" Banditelli @banditelli.org · 17/06/2026

⚠️OMG OMG I CAPTURED A FULL GREBELING YAWN ON VIDEO CALL THE GREBE.... FANS? 🐣 🪶

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

I put up a couple of signs to help keep the kits safe from off-leash dogs…and off-leash dogs safe from pissed-off fox parents 🤞

A handmade sign taped to the back of a metal road sign reads: CAUTION: FOX DEN NEARBY - PLEASE KEEP DOGS ON LEASH IN THIS AREA

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Premee Mohamed @premeemohamed.com · 16/06/2026

Thanks to a timely bequest, I splurged on new legs for my old cottage -- you know, as time goes on, I just want a smoother ride. Quieter. Like... luxury, a little bit. And now, my movement through the woods is heralded by the rustlerustlerustle of hundreds of dainty millipede legs!

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

A pair of Gray Foxes made a den under our shed, and now I can’t get anything done with all the cuteness happening out the window. A nice problem to have 😍

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Salamanders, slugs, millipedes… Our deck is a minefield of critters in the rainy season. We have to use flashlights at night to avoid them. I made some signs to remind us & our visitors. 😁 (click thru ⬇️ to see @schofield.bsky.social’s pic of a big ol’ Arboreal Salamander!)

A black plaque with the words “CAUTION SALAMANDER CROSSING” in green hangs on cedar shingles

A green plaque with the words “CAUTION SLUG XING” in yellow hangs on railing for outdoor stairs

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Omg look at this tiny spotted Banana Slug! 😍

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Cat woke me up before 6:00 this morning, and as it turns out, that's a great time to do some slug-watching on our deck! So here is a Slug Appreciation Thread for you, mostly featuring this great big Banana Slug (with guest appearances by Reticulate Taildroppers!) Some time-lapse videos to start...

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Hi friends, an important public online resource needs your help! The California Digital Newspaper Collection desperately needs donations after their state funding was cut. This extensive collection of digitized newspapers dating back to the 18th c. is invaluable. www.givecampus.com/schools/Univ...

givecampus.com

Help Preserve the California Digital Newspaper Collection

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Reposted by Damaris Brisco

Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

Found an ankylosaur foraging down by the creek today.

A small ankylosaur figurine standing at the edge of running water.

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

A tiny bit of magic on the underside of a milkweed leaf, a Monarch Butterfly egg. #invert

A small light yellowish egg with ribs. It is nestled in fuzz on the underside of a leaf.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

I’m helping my kid make a lined full-length cape, and I *really* need just one corner of an infinitely-sized table

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Lil Mama's still hanging around, even after our annual cutback for wildfire safety. She seemed to appreciate the convenience of the cut grasses and the blackberry branches left behind. She got pretty close to me for those last couple photos, and I could hear her grunting softly. Might be in labor.

A pregnant Black-tailed Deer stands on a terraced hillside that has been recently mowed. Her body is facing the camera, and she is looking towards her right, with her ears cocked.

A Black-tailed Deer doe stands behind a large Douglas-fir tree on a recently-mowed hillside, looking toward the camera. Her body is facing right, and only her head, neck, and shoulders are visible; the rest of her is obscured behind the tree.

A pregnant Black-tailed Deer stands on a recently-mowed hillside. She is facing to the left, and she's nibbling on the broken wild onions.

A pregnant Black-tailed Deer stands on a recently-mowed hillside. To her right, a few branches of a Bigleaf Maple are visible; the branches nearest her are bare of any leaves or seed pods. Her body is facing the camera, and she's looking toward the right, downhill, with her ears cocked up.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Woke up early on Monday, and I was just in time to see Big Mama and her two brand-new little ones out the south window. She was still cleaning them. They are like bouncy spotted puppies with hooves & I LOVE them. I melted into a puddle and have not recovered. Don’t send help.

A female Black-tailed deer stands behind two half-barrel planters, facing the camera, with her right ear cocked back & left facing forward. A pair of spotted fawns stands on either side of her, nursing.

A female Black-tailed deer stands behind two half-barrel planters, with her head turned to her left and her tongue visible. A pair of spotted fawns stands on either side of her, nursing.

A female Black-tailed deer stands behind two half-barrel planters, with her head turned to her left and her ears cocked back. A pair of spotted fawns stands on either side of her, nursing. She is cleaning the fawn on her left.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

More pics from my Feb 5 trip to see the Sutter Buttes. I took a side trip to the Sutter County Museum in Yuba City just to see this: a fully restored Model 12 Yuba Ball Tread Tractor, built in 1915. If you ever find yourself in Yuba City, visit the Sutter County Museum. It is an absolute delight

Photograph of the Yuba Ball Tread Tractor Model 12 in the Sutter County History Museum, Yuba City, California. The front of the tractor is at the right. The body of the tractor is painted forest green, and the engine housing has metallic gold trim. A wide metal spoked wheel at the front of the tractor provides steering. At the rear of the tractor are two tank-style treads on either side of a metal seat for the tractor operator.

View of the Yuba Ball Tread Tractor Model 12 in the Sutter County History Museum, Yuba City, California from the rear. A sign on the right in the foreground reads “Exhibits in Progress - (Nisesan, Gold Rush & Westward Expansion, Yuba-Sutter Floods) - Coming before the Museum’s 50th Anniversary on April 25, 2025!”

View of the Yuba Ball Tread Tractor Model 12 in the Sutter County History Museum, Yuba City, California from the front. A silver-colored arrow is situated above the front steering wheel. The gold-trimmed engine housing is visible in the background.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

Last week, I went to see the dawn light on the Sutter Buttes on my birthday. I wanted to see them against a flooded landscape, and I couldn't have picked a better day. This is the view from the Larry Munger Vista Point just west of Yuba City.

Photograph of the Sutter Butters (Maidu: Histum Yani/Esto Yamani, Wintun: Olonai-Tol, Nisenan: Estom Yanim) viewed from the Southeast just before sunrise. The nine-ish points of the buttes lie in shadow against a peach-to-bluish predawn sky. A line of trees and utility poles delineates a road at the base of the buttes. Flooded agricultural fields lie between the viewer and the road; two rows of Blackberry vines in the foreground line a canal.

Photograph of the Sutter Butters ((Maidu: Histum Yani or Esto Yamani, Wintun: Olonai-Tol, Nisenan: Estom Yanim) viewed from the Southeast at the first moments of sunrise. The lower two-thirds buttes lie in shadow against a peach-to-bluish predawn sky, and the peaks of the buttes are faintly lit by the first rays of dawn from the right. A line of trees and utility poles delineates a road at the base of the buttes. Flooded agricultural fields lie between the viewer and the road; two rows of Blackberry vines in the foreground line a canal.

Photograph of the Sutter Butters ((Maidu: Histum Yani or Esto Yamani, Wintun: Olonai-Tol, Nisenan: Estom Yanim) viewed from the Southeast at sunrise. The buttes are fully illuminated by the rising sun from the right. A line of trees and utility poles delineates a road at the base of the buttes. Flooded agricultural fields lie in shadow between the viewer and the road; two rows of Blackberry vines in the foreground, lining a canal, bear the faint light of the rising sun.

Photograph of the Sutter Butters ((Maidu: Histum Yani or Esto Yamani, Wintun: Olonai-Tol, Nisenan: Estom Yanim) viewed from the Southeast just after sunrise. The buttes are fully illuminated by the rising sun from above to the right. A line of trees and utility poles delineates a road at the base of the buttes. Flooded agricultural fields lie in shadow between the viewer and the road. Two rows of Blackberry vines in the foreground, lining a canal; the tops of the vines nearest the viewer are fully illuminated by the rising sun.

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cageyratfish (they) UTC-7 🐟🏳️‍⚧️ @cageyratfish.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

All right folks, let's start a Roadside Attraction thread. SHOW ME YOUR GIANT SILLY ROADSIDE THINGS! My town doesn't have one, but here's a photo of Duncan's late great "World's Largest Hockey Stick" and "Norm" the creepy giant gnome, formerly just north of Nanoose, now safely retired in Saanich

"Norm", the giant gnome, who once held the Guinness World Record for "world's tallest garden gnome" and who used to have red lightbulbs in his eyes which glowed disturbingly at night, forming what's legally known as a "hazardous distraction" for drivers on Vancouver Island's main north-south highway, stands behind a chainsaw-carved sign that says WORLS FAMOUS GNOME/ NANOOSE BAY ESSO with some more reasonably-sized, chainsaw-carved gnomes at the base of the sign. Norm is dressed all in green, with black boots, and a red conical gnome hat. His right hand is raised, palm out, while his left holds a Canadian flag. There used to be an ice cream cone in his left hand. Behind him is a tall white bulk propane tank and a mowed area with a picnic table on it.

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Sandpiper @spg21212.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Well, our federally funded organization was just told to take down any DEIA displays in our offices, like pride flags. Meanwhile, a nice astronomer gave us this Hubble spectrum of HD 233622a, variable type B2V E star. Science displays are still allowed. 🏳️‍🌈 🔭

A star's spectrum taken by Hubble spectrographs rended as a rainbow of blue, green, yellow, orange, and red.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

So I did it - I finally joined the Chileno Valley Newt Brigade! Volunteers like me spend one evening a week during the rainy season patrolling a segment of Chileno Valley Road, helping California and Rough-skinned Newts safely cross the road to & from Laguna Lake. www.chilenovalleynewtbrigade.org

Landscape photograph looking down the length of a paved two-lane road, taken from the right side of the road. A barbed-wire fence runs along the right side of the road. A grassy green field lies behind the fence; dark shapes in the distance are cattle, and part of Laguna Lake stretches behind them. On the left side of the road is a hill covered in green trees. A rolling green hill lies in the background. In the foreground is a large sign affixed to a utility pole on the right side of the road. The sign has a white background, and it features an orange image of a newt with the text: SLOW - NEWT PATROL ON ROAD.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Graffiti on the back of the pump shed at the San Geronimo Commons.

Photo of a small blue-gray building. The reed-lined edge of a pond is visible in the foreground; in the background are green trees. The right side of the building features wheatpaste-style graffiti of a man, from head down to mid-torso, pointing directly at the viewer. The man is wearing a blue jacket and wearing a red medallion around his neck.

Close-up crop of wheatpaste-style graffiti on a flat blue-gray wall. Image is made from a colorized photograph of a man, shown from the mid-torso up. He has dark, short-cropped hair with a widow's peak. His eyes are dark, and his skin is a pale, sickly yellow. He is wearing a blue double-breasted jacket with a high rolled collar over a white turtleneck. A golden sash is draped over his left shoulder, and he's wearing a fist-sized red medallion on a red-beaded cord around his neck; the medallion hangs down to his solar plexus. He is smirking, with his left eyebrow raised, and pointing his right forefinger directly at the viewer.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Yesterday we drove out to Bolinas to visit a Gaza Surf Club fundraising pop-up. Strolled down to Bolinas (Brighton) Beach to snap a few photos. I just love this sign - it's *so* Bolinas, lol.

Image of the edge of a concrete seawall, with a beach and surfers on the right. A hand-painted wooden sign on the seawall says “Beach” with an arrow pointing to the left.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Epic stick just dropped on my back porch. UV blacklight revelation ftw

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Yesterday in #RoysRedwoods: I went out ahead of the incoming atmospheric river to see how the forest is anticipating the drench. We’ve had a little over an inch & a half of rain so far this rainy season - a nice & gentle overture…

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

I haven’t thought about this song in like 30 years, but it’s been an earworm for the past couple days. I forgot how weird the video was. youtu.be/Yq7FKO5DlV0?...

youtu.be

Genesis - Land of Confusion (Official Music Video)

YouTube video by Genesis

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

Moon over the San Geronimo Valley tonight

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 05/11/2024

STOP THIS IS A CUTE ANIMAL PIC CHECKPOINT. PLEASE SHARE A MINIMUM OF ONE (1) CUTE ANIMAL PIC BEFORE PROCEEDING. THIS IS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE TO PRESERVE THE MENTAL HEALTH OF THIS SITE. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.

Two dogs sleeping on a bed. The white one is wearing a little hoodie and cuddled up against the black one, who is sticking her nose directly into the weird fisheye effect of the wide angle lens I had to use to take the pic without waking them. Not included: the soft sound of snores

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 05/11/2024

What’s your anxiety-management strategy for tomorrow? I’ll be stringing a garland of glass beads and watching horror movies. Might need to get more beads.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 31/10/2024

Timelapse: Sunset over Pico Beach - San Simeon, California

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 22/10/2024

Some photos from the past few weeks: First up, some fresh Coast Redwood foliage from Samuel P. Taylor State Park. #SPTaylorSP

Green Coast Redwood foliage, viewed from beneath

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 16/10/2024

Mama Raccoon and her three babies spent a solid 40 minutes having a spa break at our birdbaths last night. Here is a video of the fastidious fuzzbutts for your viewing pleasure. vimeo.com/1020291703?s...

vimeo.com

Raccoon Bath Time

Our local Raccoon family sure does love the birdbaths.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 16/10/2024

Aieee, just one week until ABSOLUTION is unleashed upon the world! I am so stoked for this book that I’m re-re-re-reading the first three Area X novels. Gotta make some room on the @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social shelf!

A shelf holding ten books by Jeff VanderMeer

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 11/10/2024

Aurora over West Marin County, California just now. 🩷

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 02/10/2024

Raccoons are hogging the water dish all night

Black-and-white trailcam photo of three Raccoons at a birdbath. Timestamp is 21:44:24

Black-and-white trailcam photo of two Raccoons at a birdbath. Timestamp is 23:13:37

Black-and-white trailcam photo of four Raccoons at a birdbath. Timestamp is 05:22:38

Black-and-white trailcam photo of one Raccoon at a birdbath. Timestamp is 05:47:44

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 02/10/2024

Steller's Jay is a bird of action

Out-of-focus photo of a blue-and-black bird in flight in front of birdbaths

Out-of-focus photo of a blue-and-black bird (Steller's Jay) in flight above birdbaths; blue-and-white bird (California Scrub Jay) in flight near bird bath

Out-of-focus photo of a blue-and-black bird fluttering next to bird bath

Out-of-focus photo of a blue-and-black bird in flight above bird baths

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 01/10/2024

My favorite entries from last week's "Sheriff's calls" in the Point Reyes Light: People worry about boulders, "something;" allegedly caffeinated deer; belligerent campers.

BOLINAS: At 7:36 p.m., someone looking from the shoreline saw something black bobbing in the water. Deputies wrote that it was a boulder.

FOREST KNOLLS: At 10:39 p.m., a woman was wondering about something.

INVERNESS: At 4:55 a.m., a man said people had entered his home and made a large batch of coffee and then dropped it on the floor before fleeing in a car. Deputies found deer on his porch that fled upon their arrival.

SAMUEL P. TAYLOR: At 8:47 p.m. campers with loud music had turned the volume up when they were asked to turn it down.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 01/10/2024

Got my trailcam set up again. First visitor last night was one of our local Raccoons...

Black-and-white trailcam photo of a Raccoon washing their hands in a birdbath. Photo is timestamped 22:39:39.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 27/09/2024

From today in #Tocaloma: This morning I hiked up the Cross Marin Trail alongside Lagunitas Creek. Met this lil Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) along the way. I don't usually see them under the big Redwoods, so this was a special treat. 😊

A small, grayish-brown Western Fence Lizard splayed across fallen Coast Redwood and California Bay leaves

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 26/09/2024

It's been too long since I've visited #RoysRedwoods; my old haunts in the flats have been under heavy trail construction, and much of the preserve is inaccessible (more on this later.) Paid a visit today for the first time in months...

* Brown rectangular sign affixed to a post in a parking lot. Hand-painted text in white reads: "ROY'S REDWOODS LOOP TRAIL". A white arrow below the text points toward the right.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 24/04/2024

@schofield.bsky.social spotted a little Reticulate Taildropper Slug eating a bit of birdseed on our deck last week, so now he's giving them lil snacks whenever we see one. 💚

A tiny Reticulate Taildropper Slug, viewed from their right side. They are curled around a bit of sunflower seed, with their optical tentacles slightly extended; their pneumostome is open.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 01/04/2024

From today at #BonTempeLake: Here There Be Orchids. Took a little hike this morning on the Shadyside Trail with @schofield.bsky.social. This is Corallorhiza striata, the Striped Coralroot - a parasitic orchid that feeds on mycorrhizal fungi.

Striped Coralroot: A parasitic orchid entirely lacking green pigmentation; a stout, straight pale pinkish stem featuring about a dozen flowers with reddish stripes.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 10/03/2024

We've been getting to know the Banana Slug neighbors who frequent our deck. I call this one Dot. vimeo.com/921660050?sh...

vimeo.com

A Graceful Exit

Time-lapse video of one of our porch's resident Banana Slugs. I've been calling this one Dot.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 10/03/2024

It was a good year for these lovely red mushrooms at #RoysRedwoods. I believe these are Hygrocybe coccinea, the Scarlet Waxy Cap. Such cheerful-looking little critters! ❤️

A pair of red mushrooms with yellow gills emerging from under a fallen tree branch. There is a yellow margin along the edge of their caps, and the gills are thick and broadly-spaced. Their stems are also red and quite sturdy. Leaf litter around the mushrooms is fallen Coast Redwood foliage.

A single red mushroom with yellow gills emerging from Coast Redwood duff. There is a yellow margin along the edge of their cap, and the gills are thick and broadly-spaced. Their stem is also red and quite sturdy.

A trio of red mushrooms emerging from Coast Redwood duff in front of a tree stump. There is a yellow margin along the edge of their convex caps, and the gills are not visible. Their stems are also red and quite sturdy. A Chickweed plant is growing among them.

A single red mushroom emerging from Coast Redwood duff. There is a yellow margin along the edge of their convex cap, and the gills are not visible. Their stem is also red and quite sturdy.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 09/03/2024

Three minutes in the life of a Banana Slug. From #RoysRedwoods on 14 February. It must feel so good to be a Slug. 💚

Banana Slug on a California Bay Laurel tree: A large, olive-green slug on a large tree trunk leaning hard to the left. The tree's bark is home to a lot of happy green mosses. The slug is facing downward and to the right, with their lower body forming a sinuous lower-S shape, and their tail is listing upwards and slightly toward the left.

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Damaris Brisco @fungallove.bsky.social · 09/03/2024

Porch salamanders! I found this pair of Arboreals (Aneides lugubris) today underneath a wet chair cushion I'd left on the deck. And it's not the cushion we found a couple under yesterday. So I'm torn: Take better care of my outdoor upholstery, or be lazy & make homes for cool salamanders?

A pair of very small (juvenile) Arboreal Salamanders: Brown salamanders with large heads and very bulbous eyes, speckled with tiny ochre dots; their color pales along their legs, fading to grey at the feet. Background is a wooden deck. There is a fresh bunch of green lichen on the right and a few brown Douglas-fir needles strewn about.

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