Maxine Stone’s Missouri’s Wild Mushrooms and the Mushroom Expert were helpful in identifying them. The amusing name refers to the mushroom’s design and colors that resemble the tail of a strutting wild turkey.

Mushrooms seem magical and mysterious to me. They appear unexpectedly in all different places with different shapes, sizes, and colors. I’m intrigued by them but know very little about them.

I now know that Turkey Tail mushrooms are very common throughout the world. They usually grow on dead wood. These are growing on a stick of Dogwood from the tree we cut down last fall. They are edible and used in Chinese medicine. They are even being considered as a treatment for cancer.

According to Ms. Stone’s book, Turkey Tail mushrooms have pores instead of gills. When I checked the underside, I did indeed find pores and a different kind of beauty – click image for a closer view.

I especially like this close-up view.

I’ve seen these mushrooms many times in the woods and it was a special treat to find them in our yard. I like knowing their name and learning a little bit about them, and having this connection to woods all over the world.

We frequently see these birds  in the backyard, and in winter at dusk we often have ten or more feeding on sunflower and safflower seeds. During the day, they often come to the shelf feeder just outside our dining room window. If the light is favorable and I’m lucky, I can capture details that are otherwise difficult to see, such as the large orange beak and black face mask.

Cardinals do not migrate and we enjoy them year-round. Seeing and hearing them is especially welcome during the winter months. You can hear their “what-cheer-cheer-cheer” and “pretty-pretty-pretty” calls at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Wikipedia websites.

Cardinals are the state bird for seven states, including Kentucky, and the mascot for numerous athletic teams and schools, so evidently many other people like them as well.  I’m almost sure this one is saying “Happy Valentine’s Day!”

When I looked to the west I saw dark, fast-moving clouds. To the east, the sky was entirely different with lots of bright blue sky and white fluffy clouds. In both scenes I appreciated the contrasting tree branches.

I’m often looking forward or down, totally unaware of the sky. I like thinking of it as a giant art museum with ever-changing views, and I hope I can remember to look up more often.

While we were watching the eagle, a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) landed gracefully  just across the river from us and struck this elegant pose.

This close-up showcases its beautiful feathers.

Herons are common year-round Kentucky residents and I always enjoy seeing them, either flying overhead or feeding near the edge of water.

Folks with fish ponds are less happy to see herons, since fish are their favorite food. A couple of years ago one landed in our backyard, and we recently saw one on top of a neighbor’s roof. Now we’re wondering. We haven’t seen our goldfish recently. Are they hidden under the rocks for the winter or did the heron dine? Time will tell.

Greater Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) spend the winter in Florida, Tennessee and Georgia. Some of them stop in Kentucky each January and February as they head north to their breeding grounds in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Canada, and Alaska. Park officials estimated the current population at 4,600 birds.

We started the sunrise tour at 6 a.m. and drove near mud flats where the cranes roost. At first we could only hear their distinctive calls. With daylight began to see flock after flock leave the roost to feed. During the day we traveled backroads to see many birds in nearby fields.

The cranes are extremely wary and quick to take flight, so it wasn’t easy to get close to them. I captured all of these photos with a 100-400 mm camera lens that I rented from Murphy’s Camera.

It was a special treat to see them jump and “dance.” Were they practicing for courtship or possibly jumping for joy?

Finding cranes on our own would have been tricky and we are glad we did the tour. Park officials know the habits of the cranes and where to find them. If you are interested, there is another Sandhill Crane Weekend February 17-18, when the bird population is expected to reach about 12,000. Preregistration is required.

It was a fun weekend and I’m grateful to have seen and heard these awesome birds relatively close to home.

This Leather Wood Fern (Dryopteris marginalis) also seems to be doing fine.

The Golden Ragwort (Senecio obovatus) is one of my favorite ground covers. I look forward to its early spring blossoms. However, right now I’m enjoying the green it adds to the winter garden.

In addition to taking winter in stride, these plants do quite well in dry, shady areas in summer. I admire their toughness.

I was inspired to grab my small camera and quickly captured six images. Then I came inside, raised my coffee cup, and drank a toast to the beautiful sky and new day.

How about this Grapevine Beetle (Pelidnota punctata)? I was surprised and delighted to know we had such a striking creature in our backyard.

I’ve seen several different skippers in the backyard. They are often referred to as LBBs (little brown butterflies) and are a challenge to identify. However, I plan to give it a try. I believe this one is a Pecks Skipper (Polites peckius).

The Green Lacewing (Chrysopidae family) is perhaps my very favorite insect. It’s a voracious predator of aphids and beneficial in any garden. I also think it quite beautiful.

Thanks to our native plants we have a wide variety of insects. The insects pollinate the plants, provide food for our birds, and give me considerable enjoyment. I like this quote by Edward O. Wilson. “Insects are the little things that run the world.” One of my goals for 2012 is to photograph and identify more of these interesting critters.

I was in the backyard, camera in hand, looking for butterflies on the zinnias, when the hummingbird appeared. I felt lucky to capture this image before it whisked away.

Was it feeding on nectar or was it looking for insects for its young? I don’t know, but I like this haiku by my friend Beth.

Hummingbird’s Bar

An open-faced bowl,

Zinnia quenches the thirst

of beauty in flight.

by Beth Bailey

Here’s to special memories of the past and the possibilities of the future. What were your favorite garden experiences in 2011?

The closer I look, the more magical it seems. I encourage you to click the image for a closer view.

Wishing you a holiday season and new year filled with the wonders of nature.