Tessera

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄

@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social

I post nature pictures, mostly fungi, taken on my daily hikes with my pup Winston. The forest is my happy place and helps regulate my PTSD. Lefty atheist USAF vet, mycophile, Environmental Scientist w/ a MS in Geoscience. Aspiring writer and photographer.

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Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · last wk.

We've been hearing this young Red Tailed Hawk seemingly succeeding at establishing their territory in our neighborhood over the past week. The local ravens & crows have put up a valiant effort attempting to chase them off but I think our sky might be under new management now. #RedTailedHawk #Bird

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · last wk.

I finally got around to harvesting and prepping the first round of #Salal berries from the bushes I've been tending in my yard. My go to has been a lemon vanilla salal muffin but this year I incorporated a little matcha powder. The lemon zest will probably overpower it but I love the color. #Nature

The Salal berry bunches after harvest. I left plenty for the birds. The bushes I've been feeding compost and routinely watering are absurd compared to the ones I see in the "wild" that are usually heavily browsed by humans harvesting for floral arrangements.

The end result was just over 4 cups of berries, just shy of a liter. Not bad for the first harvest. About 10% of the berries on my main cluster of bushes, although most of what is left is still green which means I'll have several more rounds to go through the fall! I used half of this for the muffins this morning and have the rest in the chest freezer to test how well they freeze.

Immediately after incorporating the berries into the muffin batter.

All set in the silicon muffin pans. They're gonna be ugly little buggers, but if the batter is any indication they should be delicious.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2w ago

I found this bottle taken over by moss abandoned in the woods this winter and thought it would fit with the theme of #Glass for this weekend's #BlueskyArtShow #Photography #Moss I backlit it with one of my lights to give it an ethereal look.

This is one where I wish I had my DSLR with me at the time. I would have tried to get a little more of the mossy bed in focus but still a fun shot looking into the mossy interior of the bottle. Backlit with a small LED light.

The side view of a bottle likely from the 50s or 60s with moss growing inside of it on a bed of moss. Someone may have moved it to this location, found quite a ways off trail.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2w ago

What a difference 18 days makes! #Fungi #ReturnToTheSceneOfTheCrime #Growth #ShroomScrolling #DappledSunshine

A cluster of mushrooms emerge from a decaying fir stump. Their caps are a velvety brown with creamy gills and that travel down the stem before more velvet dominates. Scene here with some dramatic lighting thanks to the evergreen huckleberry that was providing a little shade from the the sun.

A slightly different angle with a better placed supplemental lighting to highlight the gills. The dappling sunshine on the stump and mushroom makes for some dramatic lighting that I dig more than a perfectly lit subject.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · last mo.

We found a couple of adorably bulbous Velvet Roll-rim today. (Tapinella atrotomentosa) Found on the same stump I've found it flushing from a few times now, see the old post below. #DéjàVu #Fungi #FungiFriends #Mushroom #MacroPhotography

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2w ago

I returned to this bouquet of Ghost Pipe yesterday and was impressed with their progress...also grateful no one has picked them in the 19 days between visits. (Monotropa uniflora) #BloomScrolling #GhostPipe #Flowers #Myco-heterotroph #FungiParasite #Fungi

Most of the ghost pipe flowers are now fully erect facing up. Only the one straggler on the right is still facing away perpendicular to the ground. The stems are still a beautiful pinkish white with increased bruising seen along the small leaflets that line the stems. The flowers have seen their fair share of pollinators based on the bruising.

This was the closest I could get with my primary lens.

A top down view of the same bouquet of Ghost Pipe flower/plants.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · last mo.

The last of the photos from the Ghost pipe spotted this weekend. (Monotropa uniflora) #BloomScrolling #Fungi #Myco-heterotroph #FungiFriends Four more shots of this bouquet can me seen in the comments. #AltText

A bouquet of Ghost Pipe flowers spring out of the forest floor that is covered in a mix of fir cones, needles, leaves and bright green tendrils of moss. As indicated by their scientific species name, Monotropa uniflora, they have one flower per stem. Their stem and the majority of their flower parts are all a stark white with faint hints of pink. They are3 very delicate and bruise easily which shows up in as black accenting the flower and bits of stem that have been rubbed the wrong way. My understanding is each of these is their own individual plant and they are just growing in a sort of cluster that bouquet seemed to fit. They don't have any chlorophyl and have to rely on tapping into the fungal network for their food.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2w ago

While feeding the birds this morning I got a fright when I noticed several piles of vomit in front of where Winston was resting. I've never been so happy to see slime mold! They definitely lived up to their name, dog vomit slime mold, looking like piles of bile. (Fuligo septica) #SlimeMold #Dog

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2w ago

With the decent amount of rain we received Thursday I had hoped for some interesting finds this weekend & this did not disappoint. #Nature #FungiFriends This fluffy white fungus stood out as a bright beacon in the duff as it invaded an old amanita mushroom. #Fungi Closer shots w/ #Insects & more ⬇️

An old amanita mushroom can't escape their fate as they become enveloped in the mechanicians of another fungi that is taking advantage of the mushroom's structure and recent rainfall. The fluffy white nature of this invading fungi reminiscent of a sort of forbidden candy floss. The mushroom had a brown coloration with cream colored universal veil remnants flecking their cap. The other fungi advancing not only covers 70% of the mushroom but also a good 1-2 inches (2.5-5cm) of the surrounding forest floor.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 4w ago

I was stoked to try my first #Thimbleberry of the year, but was surprised this insect refused to move, even when super close. It took me longer than I'd care to admit before I finally realized it was a shedded insect exoskeleton. I think this is the #Exuvia of a #Leafhopper. #Berry #Insect #AltText

A cluster of thumbleberries, (Rubus parviflorus) the center dark red one is fully ripe while the 2x lighter red ones still need some time to mature. Another 2 heads look to have failed to have turned to fruit. The ripe berry had an translucent insect exoskeleton shed, exuvia, attached where the insect who shed it apparently assumed would be a good place to molt. The berry was still tasty after carefully removing the exuvia.

A closer view of the translucent insect shed with the head facing down and to the right and the thorax to the upper left. The legs are all visible. All resting on a bright red thimbleberry.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 4w ago

Love is in the air.... 🎶 This pair of slugs enjoying the guttation excreted from this heart shaped crust fungi. #Fungi #Guttation #Slugs #Heart

A white crust fungi has lots grown into what resembles a ❤️ the fungi is excreting a fair amount of guttation, especially on the right side. A pair of tiny slugs are hanging out on the left side of the heart, are they the reason there is exposed wood nearby?

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · last mo.

Two clusters of velvet Roll-rim fungi spring out of what I believe to be a Douglas for stump. The name said it all. These mostly brown fungi have a velvety brown top with a light brown stipe. In this case the stem is quite bulbous. The gills are a creamy white with a drastic transition from the stem to the gills. The top mushroom is hiding 3 more tiny fungi similar to the lower 2.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Check out this young #Velvet-footed_Tap mushroom! (Tapinella atrotomentosa) Another example of why it's a great idea to return to the same stumps where you've previously spotted interesting #fungi. More 🍄📸 👇 including last year's observation. #DyeingFungi #ReturningToTheSceneOfTheCrime

Look at this gorgeous fella! And with some guttation! I was worried it had been too dry this year for them to return but was pleasantly surprised today on our hike.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · last mo.

More of my favorite #Myco-heterotroph, the Ghost pipe! (Monotropa uniflora) #BloomScrolling #Fungi #FungiFriends This one with a Chanterelle mushroom posed perfectly in front of it with a leafy salal sprig providing separation.

A lone chanterelle of a creamy yellow coloration springs forth from the duff being slightly contorted by the Douglas fir cone it sprung frum under that was held fast by the moss that covers the forest floor. A sprig of salal extends across the from from the left separating this mushroom from the fungi infesting gorgeous ghost plant cluster in the background. The ghost pipe have a faint pink hue to their otherwise stark white stalk and flower parts with accents of black bruises. This is a composite shot of 29 images focus stacked. I took a second after capturing the foreground to add lighting to the ghost pipe for the last 10 pictures. Making due with what I have and I love the results.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · last mo.

Ghost Pipe are blooming! #BloomScrolling (Monotropa uniflora) These are my favorite of all the local non-photosynthesizing plants with their delicate faintly pink to stark-white stalks that bruise in gorgeous black accents seemingly designed for a noir film. #Myco-heterotroph #Fungi #FungiFriends

5 fully mature plants stand tall over their stunted friend. Based on the bruising I'd water the larger plants have been exposed for a while longer than their diminutive friend that looks to have already flowered. The plants and flowers are white with a faint pink hue to them. They bruise very easily and that bruising turns a very contrasty black that gives them a sort of painted look. A composite of 9 pictures were focus stacked for this image. There was a bright red mite crawling about them the entire time but I unfortunately missed it in this shot.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · last mo.

A few more observations from the hike at Banner Heritage Park in Port Orchard Washington this past Friday. #Fungi #BloomScrolling #Myco-Heterotroph #Moss #Nature

Another of my favorites, the perfectly pink gnome plant emerging through the mossy duff.

An amanita with a light yellow cap dappled in oatmeal looking remnants of the universal veil emerges from beside an old moss and lichen covered stump.

A mushroom I'm pretty sure is of the Russula genus makes its way in the crook of a stump. The mushroom has a grey cap with white gills and a white stipe and is standing right in front of a dark passage heading into the stump ringed by moss.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · last mo.

My first Leafless Wintergreen!! Pyrola aphylla. #BloomScrolling #Flowers My first love is #Fungi, but a very close second are #Non-Photosynthesizing plants. Plants that are fully reliant on fungi for their carbon and nutrients, just like I'm reliant on fungi for my joy! #Mycoheterotroph unite!

I found a trio of these in the local forest, Banner Heritage Park in Port Orchard. I was super excited to find these as I didn't even know they existed. I initially wondered if they were an odd looking Woodland Pinedrop (Pterospora andromedea) that I've come across a couple of times in recent years as they have almost pumpkin looking fruiting bodies I could have seen these becoming but I was super excited to find out they were an entirely new species of Non-photosynthesizing plant I wasn't even aware of. The flowering stalk extended about 12-18 inches (30-45 cm) above the forest floor. Another stalk was found about an arms length away from this one.

These gorgeous flower have an very phallic looking Pistil that drops down and has a sort of mushroom head looking tip that appears to have moisture and or nectar surrounding it.

The other plant found nearby. I couldn't get over the colors of these. The Bright orange/yellow anther at the tip of the white filament. The phallic pistil that drops down and the ink dappled with shite petals that protect these from the elements. A light green sepal is present and possibly has chlorophyll here?

Another angle of the 1st plant also seen in image 1 and 2 of this post.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · last mo.

One of my favorite flowers to find, Heal-all, Prunella vulgaris. Also known as Self-heal, Woundwort and apparently Carpenter's herb, among others. #BloomScrolling #Flowers #Nature #Photography

A top view of some a symmetrical Heal-all.plany with bright purple flowers with white highlights and edges standing in stark contract to the dark green leaves and flowering structure.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Check out this massive grouping of flowering Pinesap, Monotropa hypopitys. #BloomScrolling A few closeups of this group and a bonus loner found nearby can be seen below in the comments. #Nature #Myco-heterotroph #Parasitism #Fungi #FungiGarderners

A large grouping of pinesap dominate this side of the trail with at least 13 sprouts present here growing among the salal and evergreen huckleberry. This picture is a composite of 13 images focus stacked.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A few odds and ends from Friday's trip to McCormick Forest Park in Gig Harbor Washington State. #Fungi #Orchid #BloomScrolling #MacroPhotography Picture 2 is often seen at this park having been infected by the Hypomyces lactifluorum fungi, resulting in lobster mushrooms.

A Bolete, possibly of the Zeller's variety.

A Russula, possibly a Russula brevipes, sprouting forth from the forest floor. I believe someone already removed the litter from the top of this one prior to my coming across it. These large white fungi are quite common at this park and are often seen in their lobster mushroom form when infected by the also common here Hypomyces lactifluorum.

A spotted coralroot orchid I believe to be the Corallorhiza maculata var. ozettensis. A fly can be seen hanging out on one of the lower flowers.

A Russula fungi with its cap nearly fully eaten away. I normally would attribute this to slugs but didn't see any slug trails and the the way it was eaten doesn't seem right either. Unsure what creature ate this poor fella.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

One of the few Amanita #Fungi seen at McCormick Forest Park Friday. I really enjoyed the composition including the sporangia dotted frond of a nearby #SwordFern in the background. A closer shot of the fungi can be seen below. #MacroPhotography #Nature

A singular amanita pops forth from the forest floor here with a creamy yellow cap dotted by rolled oat looking universal veil remnants. The stipe is a creamy white and has a ring just above halfway down the stipe toward the volva, mostly obscured by the forest litter here. A likely Douglas fir cone can be seen just to the right. A couple of Sword Fern fronds act as the backdrop here with their sporangia clearly visible dotting the underside of the frond exposed here. This shot is a composite of 21 images taken in a series focus stacked.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I revisited one of the larger Gnome plants I've seen this spring Friday and captured these shots. Their coming along nicely, especially in contract to the ragged looking compatriot found an arm's length away, seen below. #Myco-heterotroph #Fungi #FungiFriends #Nature #MacroPhotography

A 4th is now coming along, the small growth that hasn't flowered yet at the bottom of this image. I don't believe it'll be able to get anywhere near the size of their larger friends seen here. These plants are absurdly adorable with their faint pink hue that becomes paler as you reach the edges. The petals/leaves are covered in tiny hairs. The Stigma is a bright yellow and barely peaking out of the petals here. Look for a striped insect in the center of the left larger plant here. This picture is a composite of 23 images taken in a series with my Canon 70D focus stacked using the Helicon Focus software. Supplementally lit with 2x LED lights.

The same grouping of plants as in image one but shot from above allowing for the bright yellow Stigma to be better visible. If you zoom in there are at least 4 ants visible crawling about the bottom half of the bottom large gnome plant seen here. 23 photographs taken in series with my Canon 70D were focus stacked in post using the Helicon Focus software to make this picture. I believe this was supplementally lit with just 2x LED lights.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Always love a good #Guttation shot and the colors on this oddball bracket #Fungi were perfect! Even with how hot dry weather we've been having some fungi are still fortunate enough to have enough water to guttate. #FungiFriends #Nature

A bracket fungi's new growth, the creamy colored soft portion seen here is guttation, or excreting excessive moisture and metabolites, which give the water that amber coloration.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Uncovering one of dozens of Amanita found yesterday along the trail. #Fungi #FungiFriday #FungiFriends #UncoveringShrooms

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I forgot I had a few more single shot images to post. A few more Amanita fungi from yesterday. 4 bonus mushrooms at early stages of development. #Fungi #FungiFriends #Macro

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

We found a trail absolutely covered in Amanitas this weekend and I made the trek back yesterday to check in on them. A series of pictures from yesterday's Journey Through the Amanitas for #FungiFriday Image 11 of 12 (Image 12 in the comment below) #Fungi #Photography #Macro #FungiFriends #AltText

A fungi in the Russula genus barely peeking out from the moss covered forest floor. I count at least 5 springtails here although the 5th isn't is as in focus as I would have liked. Nearby were a few Spotted Coralroot orchids that I'm thinking might have been this fungi's flower garden. A composite of 21 images were focus stacked here. Supplementally lit with 3x LED lights at 5K.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

We found a trail absolutely covered in Amanitas this weekend and I made the trek back yesterday to check in on them. A series of pictures from yesterday's Journey Through the Amanitas for #FungiFriday Image 10 of 12 #Fungi #Photography #Macro #FungiFriends #AltText

The last Amanita from today is a funky looking one. It was round ground from the side of a stump. The cap still has remnants of the universal veil on about 2/3 of the cap. The stipe is curbed away from the stump, I'm assuming to better spread their spores? A focus stacked composite of 16 images.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

We found a trail absolutely covered in Amanitas this weekend and I made the trek back yesterday to check in on them. A series of pictures from yesterday's Journey Through the Amanitas for #FungiFriday Image 9 of 12 #Fungi #Photography #Macro #FungiFriends #AltText

Another pair of amanitas at different stages of development. The one in the foreground has nearly fully expanded. It has a handful of oatmeal like remnants on their creamy yellow cap. The stipe is a creamy white with a ring present. The younger fungi in the background looks like it has just burst forth through the moss and has very little remnants of their universal veil remaining even at this early stage, possibly scraped away by the moss that it burst through. This image is a Focus Stacked composite of 21 images. The fungi were supplementally lit with 2x LED lights.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

We found a trail absolutely covered in Amanitas this weekend and I made the trek back yesterday to check in on them. A series of pictures from yesterday's Journey Through the Amanita's for #FungiFriday Image 6 of 12 (7 & 8 in comment below) #Fungi #Photography #Macro #FungiFriends #AltText

The lone Bolete found along the trail. I was fortunate enough to get a mostly in focus shot of the fly before it buzzed off. A focus stacked composite of only 4 images went into this picture. I was even more fortunate to have captured the fly because the exposure time here was 1/2 sec, so glad they decided to stand still for that time. The mushroom has an interesting latticework on its stipe that is an ochre coloration. The creamy yellow pores look pristine although if that fly deposited some eggs I wouldn't expect it to remain so for too much longer although. The cap is a slightly darker yellow color.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

We found a trail absolutely covered in Amanitas this weekend and I made the trek back yesterday to check in on them. A series of pictures from yesterday's Journey Through the Amanita's for #FungiFriday Image 5 of 12 #Fungi #Photography #Macro #FungiFriends #AltText

One of the many desiccated Amanitas found along the trail that got fully zapped by last weeks heat wave. I love how their gills get all squiggly when they dry up. This is a focus stacked composite of 11 images, supplementally lit with 2x LED lights.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

We found a trail absolutely covered in Amanitas this weekend and I made the trek back yesterday to check in on them. A series of pictures from yesterday's Journey Through the Amanita's for #FungiFriday Image 4 of 12 #Fungi #Photography #Macro #FungiFriends #AltText

A trio of Amanita at varying stages are enjoying a sunny day in their mossy habitat. The one on the left has curled up to form a sort of bowl. The intermediate stage one to the right has a bright glare from the sunlight on their creamy-yellow cap spotted with oatmeal looking remnants of the universal veil. A 3rd less mature one has just burst forth through the moss right behind the 2nd. A composite of 22 images were focus stacked here. The left mushroom was supplementally lit with 2x LED lights to better show its stipe.

Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

We found a trail absolutely covered in Amanitas this weekend and I made the trek back yesterday to check in on them. A series of pictures from yesterday's Journey Through the Amanita's for #FungiFriday Image 2 of 12 #Fungi #Photography #Macro #FungiFriends #AltText

A pair of Amanita fungi with vastly different heights with the smaller about 1/5th of the size of the larger and yet it is still going to spore likely due to the lack of moisture limiting it's growth. Both caps are a creamy-yellow with oatmeal looking cream colored remnants of the universal veil present on both caps although the larger is more concentrated on the upper 2/3 of the cap. This image is a Focus Stacked composite of 37 images lit with 2x LED lights at 5K.