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In my post of August 27, 2010 ( Extreme Observations – South and North I ) I mentioned how any amateur naturalist, gardener or curious person can use the talents of those with an Internet presence, which means most people nowadays, to help them locate items, identify insects, flowers, etc., or a myriad of other helpful things.

When asking someone on the Internet for assistance, it is very important is to avoid being a pest. I contact a person once and if I don’t hear in a reasonable amount of time, I just move on from there. Most people who want to respond and/or have the time to respond will do so in a reasonable fashion.

In my August post, I discussed the difficulty I had identifying a beetle I found while hiking in one of the forests in Prescott, AZ. I had a similar problem identifying a certain beautiful fungus when I was hiking along the Split Rock Trail along the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. (Picture below is of the Split Rock from which the trail derives its name.)

This was a very attractive growth which reminded me of a piece of coral. I searched, but could not positively identify it. I can’t remember exactly where I sent the query, but I believe it was to Dr. Fungus ( http://www.doctorfungus.org/ ). I sent a clear picture along with identifying information such as time of year, location where found, site details (such as under a piece of wood, in an open meadow, etc.), approximate size and time of day.

With this information, they were able to identify the growth and answer my query. Now I know!

What is that fungus? Why it is Hericium coralloides!

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Written by Jeff

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One of the wonderful benefits of living in the current era is the sense of “community” that has developed among those who are life-long learners and enjoy learning new things. My wife and I often hike through the Sonoran Desert where we currently reside, but in the summer we seek relief by going to the “high country.”

High country is the term used for the mountain region of Arizona such as Payson, the Mogollan Rim, Prescott, etc. We recently headed for the mountains of Prescott which offer a 10-20 degree cool down from our desert home. We had heard about the Watershed Trail near Goldwater Lake and we were interested in seeing that area. We were off to a late start and we weren’t sure if we would get to finish the entire trail, but we would do what we could.

As we were ascending the mountain, I looked at some of the dying Alligator Junipers. They get the name from their alligator-like bark (see picture below).

On one of the trees I noticed this large black and yellow beetle. While I find some bugs creepy, this one was rather attractive. I took a couple – of pictures so I could try to identify it once I returned home.

Listed below are a few of the websites I used to try and I.D. the beetle!

What’s That Bug – http://www.whatsthatbug.com/
BugGuide.Net – http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740
What’s Bugging You – http://arthurevans.wordpress.com/

I looked and looked, but couldn’t quite narrow it down. Luckily, What’s That Bug has a request form for those who would like to have a positive ID of a certain insect. Of course there is the customary proviso that they cannot answer all requests which is quite understandable. Since I wasn’t getting anywhere with my personal quest, I decided to submit a query. Here is the email:

Beetle Identification
Location: Prescott, Arizona
August 20, 2010 1:28 pm

Dear Sir (or Madam): We were hiking in Prescott, Arizona and saw several of these beetles on the bark of Alligator Junipers/Pines. Would you be able to identify them for me? I found similar looking beetles (on the web site) that were solid black, but none with the yellow-stripped sides. Thank you for your consideration.

Signature: Jeff Ross

AND low and behold, here is the response:

Hi Jeff,

We do not know why Chalcolepidius apachianus, which we identified on BugGuide, does not have the common name Apache Click Beetle. Bugguide has no information on the species, but indicates it has been photographed in Arizona and Utah. Since there is not much information to be found online for the beautiful Chalcolepidius apachianus, we will propose a second name: Skunk Stripe Click Beetle.

So… Chalcolepidius apachianus! Of course! I don’t know if I like Skunk Stripe Click Beetle though. How about you? Isn’t it wonderful that we can find this wonderful information? Now I can update my photographic tags to include the correct name. I encourage everyone to write to experts in the field when presented with a situation like this. More often than not, I have had success.

I will write about another incident in the North Country of Minnesota in my next post. Until then, keep observing those living things around you and enjoy learning about them. Have you had any similar experiences in finding people to help ID bugs or plants?

When we returned to the parking area we were greeted by a field of orange Globe Mallow and Sunflowers. They were a bit wilted, but still a heart-warming site after a long trek up hill!

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Written by Jeff

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Long before we moved to the Sonoran Desert, I had visited Cave Creek and Carfree a number of times. Cave Creek and parts of Carefree are “touristy” cowboy-style towns.

Hollywood just finished filming a movie in Cave Creek which is tentatively called “Queens of Country.” If you visit the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix, AZ area), take time to visit Cave Creek/Carefree! I think the “Sundial Park (shopping center)” is a very good place to start.

As you enter the outskirts of Cave Creek, heading for the center of town you will see magnificent houses built into the sides of the mountains. Many of these are breathtaking and blend well with the terrain. There is an interesting house on one of the side streets that was constructed among a group of boulders (see below).

When you arrive at the Sundial Shopping Center, you will of course notice one of the largest sundials in the world.

There are also several statues like this one to remind visitors they are in cowboy territory.

There is a playground with a large Gila Monster slide which is fun when the weather is appropriate.

As you stroll the shops, notice the funky street names such as

and

Many of the stores will have interesting sidewalk displays.

There is a water feature that has real flowers in the spring. I think these are Irises, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Not only is there a large sundial, there is also an easier-to-use smaller sundial.

There is much more to like about Cave Creek and I am sure if you start at the Sundial shops/park, you will launch your visit in style!

Here is some more information about the area if you are planning a trip!

http://www.carefreecavecreek.org/attractions.php

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The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

Our trip to visit family and friends in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota was going by so quickly. The one stop that I wanted to make was the sculpture garden in Minneapolis. The Spoonbridge and Cherry has appeared on covers of travel guides and other magazines and I wanted to see it and to have my own picture. It did not disappoint! (I was surprised to see that the cherry stem was actually a fountain in full force on this day!)

Before entering the outdoor gardens, we took a quick stroll through the greenhouse and the Standing Glass Fish, which I originally thought was a whale, was beautiful. It was well-placed in a raised indoor pond and was very well-suited to the sculpture.

I must admit that I am usually a sucker for a bit of whimsy in the garden and this sculpture of a Hare On a Bell was quite fascinating even with the addition of the grasshopper which couldn’t resist getting into the photo (top left of bell).

Of course the gardens were quite impressive as well…

We also visited the Como Park Zoo with a relatively new conservatory and rain forest. If you get a chance to visit, take advantage of it. On the outside of the conservatory, they had several lily pad ponds. I liked the giant lily pads the best.

Of course we couldn’t resist riding the Cafesjian’s Carousel saved and restored by donations and now faithfully serving the children of the area.

We ended this day with a family dinner at a local Mexican cantina (as though we can’t get enough in the Phoenix area).

Related Links:

Como Park Zoo and Conservatory
Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

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Details are in the hover notes – move cursor over image

It was indeed a great escape although we didn’t know it at the time. We left for Minnesota for a few days to visit family and friends and get in a bit of hiking. While we were gone, temperatures in the Cave Creek area of Arizona set new records for heat. We, however, were hiking along the shores of Lake Superior where temperatures were in the very cool fifties and forties and wind-chill added even more to the coldness.

As we arrived, we were thanked for bringing the rain which is quite amusing. We had less than three inches of rain in our desert since January where rain is scarce to begin with and we were being given credit for the rain showers that scattered across Minnesota for three of the five days we were there. Ironic! (Minnesota needed the rain as they were in the midst of a summer drought.)

Nevertheless, we were not to be deterred. What do gardeners do on vacation? They visit gardens. This was the first time in 2.5 years that we were in gardens of the northern climes and we were glad to see some old floral friends and new discoveries.

We began our garden adventure at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, but it was a rainy, nasty day. The flowers were still beautiful, but the rain turned this into a drive-thru experience which is not the best for examining gardens. Here is a picture of one of their fall displays near the entrance.

One of the Arboretum’s Fall Displays

All was not lost on this day however as we found this unique bottle tree (not to be confused with the popular bottle brush plant) in the parking lot of Surdyk’s Liquor store.

Sunflowers,

dahlias

and a variety of mixes (some with these prickly ball-type plants that research revealed was a native of southeast Africa and is in the milkweed family; Asclepias physocarpa, commonly called Balloon Plant). Read more about this unusual puff of prickly green at Wikipedia.

The quilts, artistically arranged, fit in well among the flowers!

To be continued ….

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