Cheryl Was A Child Celebrity.

Red Spotted Purple. 

Cheryl's Picture as  a Child
Celebrity. 

So much to blog about!    First, today is a one of those ridiculously hot days.   The kind that make you want to hug the AC unit in your small apartment.   Thankfully, we did not hang out and hunt mushrooms in the forest... Yet...  I shall continue that thought in a minute.

Plum Pie. 

Hmm, Trying to recapture that
earlier "cuteness".

But first!  Cheryl found a doppelganger in one of her Magazines.   This girl was younger, Prettier and perhaps even more Cute than Cheryl... And if I had to judge the pie by the picture..  she might rival Cheryl in her Pie Baking skills.  Cheryl, always one seeking to dominate any competitor... even a 6 year old,  was quick to bake a plum pie and pose with her cutest smile ever....  Well..  She tried to make a cute smile. 

At least the pie was good.  Plum pie!  I have never heard nor tasted such a thing before.   It was a solid fruit pie with new decorative do dads that add character.  Possibly just so we can win that Pie contest when Cheryl enters in the state fair...someday in the future.

Blackberry Hand Pies,
Or Turnovers...

Raccoon eating Mulberries. 

Speaking of Cheryl's Competitive nature....  Lately we have been spotting a number of Raccoons on the Kewash Trail as we bike and look for berries and mushrooms.  Today, I happened to have my camera handy to capture a small raccoon eating fallen Mulberries on the trail.   He was a little surprised to see us biking towards him and he made a mad dash into the tall grass.

Opps,  Time to run and hide! 

And Tell Mom! 

But on the way back,  apparently, he found his Mom and she gave Cheryl a Lecture!   She hissed at us as we passed by.... scaring the crap out of  Cheryl.   I have never been hissed at by a raccoon..  so that was something new for me.  Normally they are friendly and take Oreo's out of my hand... But that was another time and in another place.

Rain helped the blackberries. 

Pig Pets in Iowa? 

Another thing I need to mention was the Person walking a pig.   Not something you see everyday..even here in Iowa.  We HAVE seen it before at a different location.. but it is still a shock!   So apparently, walking a pig in Iowa is a "thing".   We thought it was an unusual dog with big floppy ears..but nope!  It was a very large pig.  Not even a "fancy one",  just a normal pig that they make bacon out of.   I guess if you live in a rural area, you can make a pet out of anything.

Enough for a pie? 

Oh, Stop it already! 

The blackberries DID actually enjoy the rain!   Several days later, we stumbled upon a  number of very large bushes that had nice thumb-sized berries on them.  Today, we returned with a bucket to pick the ones we missed.   I did have to step into the poison ivy... but we now have Poison Ivy soap that is supposed to help remove the oil from your skin.   We shall see if it works, because I have just, only, finally gotten over the rash that the last bout of poison ivy delivered.   I'm not looking forward to that any time soon.

Fawn/deer mushroom. 

Afternoon Field Bolete in
our back yard! 

And finally,  Mushrooms in our own backyard.  They are literally growing up before our eyes!   I checked the yard this morning and found only this very large Deer Mushroom.   But later, after our evening bike ride ( at around 4 pm) I found this Bolete that was not there this morning..

Yellow Pores.  

Another Fawn mushroom?

And possibly another Deer Mushroom.   I am waiting for a spore print to confirm its identity,   Guess you don't have to travel far for mushrooms after all!
 
Other than the Raccoons, we found a few other wildlife sightings to mention,  A Woodchuck and a number of Butterflies...  And my favorite!   The Dogbane Beetle.   I found a couple of them on a Dogbane plant and managed to get a picture that focused well enough.   Also... although I did not get a picture,  I found a Monarch caterpillar.   Cheryl would not let me take it home..

White gills...Not pink!  Let's get a
spore print.

What the heck is this thing? 

There were several other discoveries along the way...  I have no idea what these "seed pods" are or if they are edible, poisonous, or toxic...  I have never seen them before in my life and maybe someone who reads this will know.  Honestly, I spent most of last night trying to find a pom pom looking flower online!  If you do a search for "Iowa Wild Flower Woodland" or any combination of terns, you get the encyclopedia..but NOT the flower I was looking for. 

Or this? 

Has a very hard seed inside. 

Well, that is all for now.   I have been working on my dragon videos and will possibly post them tomorrow.  We shall see how things work out.  Thanks for stopping in.