Mushroom Hunting in Lindale
Yesterday I went to Faulkner Park in Lindale, which is north of Tyler. First, I walked the nature trail, which is about a mile long and follows a creek that runs along the bottom of a stone ravine. I was mainly looking for mushrooms, and I wasn't disappointed. Yellow and red Chanterelles covered the ground at the trail entrance. I saw a tree covered in lichens and, upon coming closer, noticed that one of the lichens was moving. I carefully picked it up and flipped it over. It was a little bug covered in pieces of green lichen. I took a picture, but it came out too blurry to post. I looked at BugGuide when I got home, and the insect was a Green Lacewings larvae; they like to disguise themselves by piling debris on their backs. Clever.
I found lots of mushrooms along the trail, and my favorite one was the Indigo Lactarius. This beautiful blue mushroom is in my field guides and I've been wanting to see one. I was so excited!
Most of the other mushrooms I found were Boletes, and I have still have to identify them.
After walking the trail, I went to the lake to look for dragonflies and found a couple of species that I'd never seen before. One was the Needhams Skimmer, which seemed to glow in the sunlight. It was so gorgeous and I spent about fifteen minutes watching it patrol the same spot on the lake shore, waiting for it to land so I could get a picture. Then I moved on. There was a story in the local news about an alligator that had been spotted on the lake, and warning signs had been put up everywhere. I hoped that I would see it, but no such luck. After walking halfway around the lake, I had to quit because the heat was getting really bad. I want to go back later and see more of this park.
For my next adventure, I am going to Jacksonville, the "Tomato Capital of the World." I am going to Nichols Green Park after seeing photos of a beautiful waterfall there on the park's Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nichols-Green-Park/195564580464840
http://www.jacksonvilletx.org/departments/parks_and_recreaton/city_parks.php
If I have the time and energy left after that, I will go to Love's Lookout, also in Jacksonville. This is a tiny park on top of a steep ridge, from which you can see for miles.
http://www.east-texas.com/loves-lookout-texas.htm