I have to admit, these photography posts are as much stalling for time while I write a difficult post as they are a look at the western plant life around my home. From my recent ramblings, here are a wildflower, a mushroom, a big black beetle, and a tangential baking adventure bonus.
After mixing some sourdough starter into a bread dough Monday, I set out to explore. It takes a long time to raise, so no rush.
Castilleja is a family of flowers commonly called "Indian paintbrush" or "prairie fire," and while I can't pin down the exact species, this is definitely one of them. It's a native species, not invasive.
An old stump, some shrubs, and most interesting to me, a big shelf mushroom at the base. Nature reclaims and regrows.
I don't know what these big black beetles are, but I see them in connection with rotting wood. This was a piece of log I pulled open, and I found this guy inside. I put a penny (19mm dia.) from my pocket next to it for scale. He wasn't too active. I probably disturbed his slumber, or maybe his dinner.
I am still trying to master the art of sourdough bread. Tuesday, I made a fancy artisanal loaf on a small stoneware pan. I definitely did not add enough slits to the top, because it grew a lot taller and split apart at the base in response to the oven's heat. Speaking of which, I clearly need to adjust my temperatures and baking times, because it was not quite done in the middle. I hastily disposed of some of the evidence with the aid of Earth Balance butter substitute.
