Almost lost amidst the blaze of autumn leaves, this Douglas Squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii) pulled my eyes away from the abundant mushrooms near the trail around Matheson Lake. While I am quite familiar with the local Black and Grey Squirrels that live comfortably in our urban areas, I don't remember seeing a Douglas Squirrel before and I am happy to add this one to the roster of local indigenous animals that I have recorded here.
Last week I posted a photo of some mushrooms we saw on our excursion to Matheson Lake Regional Park. We went there for the the express purpose of seeing some mushrooms and we weren't disappointed. We must have seen more than a dozen different varieties, including a little clump of Amanita muscaria, a mushroom I have not seen before though I have long wanted to. Unfortunately the Amanitas were all in sad states of decay and being near the trail's edge were mostly tattered and broken so I will not post any photos of them and encourage you to click their name above and see the many excellent photos of them on Wikipedia. I don't know the name of the cluster of ghostly white mushrooms pictured above. I'm still working on how best to identify mushrooms. One of the identifying features of mushrooms is the spore print but to get one you have to pick the mushroom and I am reluctant to do that so I may continue to appreciate mushrooms anonymously....
Yesterday's photo was taken during a walk in Matheson Lake Regional Park and here is a photo of the lake that gives the park its name. It's a long narrow lake with several rocky little islands. There is a hiking trail that completely encircles the lake and intersects with the Galloping Goose Regional Trail, used by walkers and cyclists. It's a lovely spot and, at this time of year, practically deserted. During the four hours we were there we saw only a few other people.
Victoria is a lovely city but it also has within a half hour's drive a multitude of wilderness areas preserved as regional parks. While the lakes and trails in these parks are at their most beautiful in the spring, the fall brings another kind of bloom to the forest floors - Mushrooms. Mosses too that have been struggling to survive through the long dry summer now thrive in the cool damp of autumn. This photo was taken yesterday during a beautiful hike Fern and I took around Matheson Lake, near Sooke.
