Bigleaf maple, Round Valley Canyon (9/27/17) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Reporting from Plumas County, color spotter Jeff Luke Titcomb found bigleaf maple and dogwood showing Near Peak color in areas of Round Valley Canyon.
Round Valley Canyon (4,692′), Plumas County – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
Dogwood (9/27/17) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Ponderosa Pine, Willows, Spinner Fall Lodge, Fall River Mills (9/20/17) Martha Fletcher
Martha Fletcher of Fall River Mills (First Report) sends this shot of the tops of Ponderosa pine reflecting the orange glow of sunset, as – in the foreground – willows are just beginning to reflect on their own orange tones.
Fall River Mills (3,195′) – Just Starting (0-10%)
Dogwood, Round Valley Canyon (9/19/17) Jeff Luke Titcomb
For our first report from the Shasta Cascade, color spotter Jeff Luke Titcomb sends these snaps of dogwood and Virginia creepers beginning to show color in the Round Valley Canyon and Taylorsville areas of Plumas County.
Plumas County (3,432′) – Just Starting (0 – 10%) – Look for spots of turning color in Round Valley and near Taylorsville.
Pluteus spp (11/15/16) Gabriel Leete
Bolbitus titubans (11/15/16) Gabriel Leete
![Ink cap [Corinus lagopus] (11/16/16) Gabriel Leete](http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GL-Mushrooms-6.jpg)
Ink cap [Corinus lagopus] (11/15/16) Gabriel Leete
![honey mushroom [Armillaria mellea] (11/16/16) Gabriel Leete](http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GL-Mushrooms-8.jpg)
honey mushroom [Armillaria mellea] (11/15/16) Gabriel Leete
![Deadly Galerina [Galerina marginata] (11/16/16) Gabriel Leete](http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GL-Mushrooms-9.jpg)
Deadly Galerina [Galerina marginata] (11/15/16) Gabriel Leete
![False turkey tail [Stereum ostrea] (11/16/16) Gabriel Leete](http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GL-Mushrooms-3.jpg)
False turkey tail [Stereum ostrea] (11/15/16) Gabriel Leete
The Shasta Cascade color spotter enjoys searching the woods for edible and otherwise fascinating mushrooms.
He sends back these images taken this week near Anderson. Recent rains have helped encourage mushroom hunting in the Shasta Cascade, which we declare to be Peak of the Week.
Gabriel writes (drawing text from Wikipedia searches for his descriptions) that the Pluteus are wood-decomposing saprobes with gills that are free from the stem and pink spore prints. These were found growing upon wood chips.
Bolbitius titubans, also known as Bolbitius vitellinus, is a widespread specie of inedible mushroom found in American and Europe. It grows primarily on dung or heavily fertilized soil, sometimes on grass.
Ink cap (Coprinus lagopus) is a specie of fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae. It is a delicate and short-lived fungus, the fruit bodies lasting only a few hours before dissolving into a black ink – a process called deliquescence.
Armillaria mellea, commonly known as honey fungus, is a basidiomycete fungus in the genus Armillaria. It is a plant pathogen and part of a cryptic species complex of closely related and morphologically similar species.
Deadly Galerina is exactly as described… it is poisonous. Galerina marginata is a specie of poisonous mushroom in the family Hymenogatraceae of the order Agaricales. The specie is a classic “little brown mushroom“—a catchall category that includes all small to medium-sized, hard-to-identify brownish mushrooms, and may be easily confused with several edible species.
False turkey tail looks like one, doesn’t it? That’s because of the concentric circles of many colors seen on the Stereum ostrea specie. This variety is a wood decay fungus that grows on tree bark. Native to North America, it grows year round.
Caution: do not eat wild mushrooms, unless you are expert at identifying them, as many poisonous varieties resemble their edible cousins.
Mushroom Hunting, Shasta Cascade – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
[forecast location=”Redding, CA” numdays=”4″ showdata=”daynames,icon,date,conditions,highlow” layout=”simple”]
Sandhill Cranes, Woodbridge Ecological Reserve (11/10/16) John Poimiroo
As trucks and motorist sped by silently in the distance at dusk, the Sandhill Cranes began arriving by the thousands.
Sandhill Cranes, Woodbridge Ecological Reserve (11/10/16) John Poimiroo
Sandhill Cranes, Woodbridge Ecological Reserve (11/10/16) John Poimiroo
Black ribbons of the big birds could be seen above the horizon at first.
Then, they shouted as they flew in, trumpeting, squawking and cawing as they descended and found the perfect spot in the middle of the wetland to stand together, feed and guard each other from foxes and coyotes that might be hidden in the grass along its edge.
This scene has been replayed each autumn night for millions of years. Seeing it is a touchstone to eternity and to the essence of life in California.
The spectacle is free at a number of Central Valley and northeastern Shasta Cascade wildlife areas. Some of these areas require guided escort. Others are open 24/7.
Sandhill Cranes can be recognized in flight by their fully extended necks and feet and on terra firma by their red crowns, that contrasts with the ash-gray of their long-legged, long-necked bodies. A white cheek and black legs and toes signify mature cranes, a California Fish and Wildlife folder advises.
CLICK HERE to learn more about crane tours and how to find their wildlife refuges.
[forecast location=”Woodbridge, CA” numdays=”4″ showdata=”daynames,icon,date,conditions,highlow” layout=”simple”]
Black oak, Clear Creek Trestle, Plumas County (11/4/16) Dennis Hayes
Railfans consider the Keddie Wye to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Western Pacific Railroad World.
It is a railroad junction in the form of a “wye” on the Union Pacific Railroad in Plumas County at the town of Keddie. The wye joins the east-west Feather River Route with a branch line (the “Inside Gateway”) north to Bieber. What makes the wye so attractive is that locomotives and their trains traveling across it provide photogenic subjects for train spotters.
Though, at this time of year, orange-colored peaking black oak in the forest near the wye are just as attractive to color spotters, as Dennis Hayes demonstrates in his vibrant photograph of the Clear Creek trestle taken on Hwy 70/89 over Spanish Creek, about 1/3-mile northeast of the Keddie Wye.
Keddie Wye, Plumas County – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
[forecast location=”Chester, CA” numdays=”4″ showdata=”daynames,icon,date,conditions,highlow” layout=”simple”]
Dogwood, Hwy 3 (10/31/16) Jeri Rangel
Stuart Fork, Trinity Alps Resort (10/31/16) Jeri Rangel
Dogwood, Rush Creek, Lewiston (10/31/16) Jeri Rangel
Coffee Creek, Hwy 3 (10/31/16) Jeri Rangel
Dogwood, Hwy 3 (10/31/16) Jeri Rangel
Hwy 3 (10/31/16) Jeri Rangel
Driving CA-3 north from Weaverville past Trinity Lake and the Trinity Alps at this time of year, you truly are on a highway to heaven.
Bold color fills the forest. In places, it is a virtual corridor of autumn drama.
Color spotter Jeri Rangel traveled the route this week, returning with these images of dogwood blushing in the woods and bigleaf maple, vine maple, cottonwood, alder, aspen, chokecherry and oaks lighting streams, forests and roads with autumn color.
California State Highway 3 – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Sacramento River Trail (11/1/16) Shanda Ochs
Sacramento River Trail (11/1/16) Shanda Ochs
Sacramento River Trail (11/1/16) Shanda Ochs
Sacramento River Trail (11/1/16) Shanda Ochs
Sacramento River Trail (11/1/16) Shanda Ochs
Sacramento River Trail (11/1/16) Shanda Ochs
Redding is unusual for a city, in that a major natural area passes through its center. That natural area is the Sacramento River.
Preserved green space flanks each side of the river to provide some flood protection to the city, preserve the riparian environment and provide a corridor of recreation.
The Sacramento River Trail is this week’s Hike of the Week.
It is a National Recreation Trail with miles of biking, walking and running path, Turtle Bay Exploration Park with its children’s discovery museum, museum of art, history and nature, wildlife discovery museum, a riparian forest tree walk, the McConnell Arboretum and Gardens (that focuses on California native plants) and lots of natural fall color.
The trail travels from scenic Shasta Dam at Shasta Lake, 17.4 miles to Sundial Bridge in Redding.
Sundial Bridge is one of three scenic and historic bridges that cross the river. Designed by world-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, Sundial Bridge is an actual working sundial, casting its towering shadow across an arc from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is not accurate in winter, however, as its shadow is too far into the adjacent arboretum to be seen.
When the bridge’s shadow is visible, it moves at a rate of one foot per minute. The remarkable, steel, glass and granite structure evokes a sense of weightlessness, and its translucent glass deck glows blue green at night.
The bridge’s cable-stayed, 217-foot pylon supports the bridge, allowing spawning grounds for salmon beneath the bridge to remain untouched.
Other bridges along the trail include the 1915 Diestelhorst Bridge – first to cross the Sacramento River – and a 418-foot stress ribbon bridge, the first of its kind in America.
Snow has curtailed color spotter Shanda Ochs’ reporting from Lassen Volcanic National Park, but encouraged her to explore the Sacramento River Trail and return with this report.
Shanda notes that some remaining fall color can be seen at Manzanita Lake in Lassen Volcanic, though the park is mostly past peak. Nevertheless, she found lots to enjoy along the Sacramento River Trail in Redding’s Caldwell Park.
Most of the trees there are non-native, though there are Frémont cottonwood, bigleaf maple, Oregon ash and willow among them. The color ranges from bold red-orange to splashes of yellow and gold. The river bank is inhabited mostly by native oak woodland and though we rate Redding as peaking, the color should continue develop for a week or two more.
Redding – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Chicken of the Woods, Anderson (10/31/16) Gabriel Leete
A favorite northwest autumn sport is mushroom hunting.
Gabriel Leete of Redding sends these photographs of mushrooms found exploring the Lower Sacramento River, in Anderson and Redding.
Caution and expert knowledge is required, as some species are both poisonous and edible. You don’t want to make a mistake, by thinking you have the edible variety, when in fact it’s poisonous.
Chicken of the Woods (seen above) [Laetiporus] is “a very brilliant spp. of fungi,” Gabriel reports, “As the nomenclature indicates, it is bright yellow & orange (sulphur colored). And the common name is due to the whitening of the flesh when cooked and has somewhat of a chicken and mushroom flavor. It is used by vegans and vegetarians in lieu of chicken.”
Agaricus, Anderson (10/31/16) Gabriel Leete
Unidentified, Anderson (10/31/16) Gabriel Leete
Earthstar, Anderson (10/31/16) Gabriel Leete
The common Agaricus genus contains some 300 members, both poisonous and edible. Caution is advised.
Earthstar [Astraeus hygrometricus] is a fascinating mushroom that resembles a globe over a star. They are too tough to be edible, so don’t bother.
Earthstars have, however, been used by native Americans and Asians medicinally as a salve against burns. The Blackfoot people called them “fallen stars,” considering them to be stars that fall to Earth during supernatural events.
It’s amazing what color you find in autumn, when looking down.
Bowerman Barn, Covington Mill (10/27/16) Jeri Rangel
Bowerman Barn, Covington Mill (10/27/16) Jeri Rangel
Barns are beautiful. They’re particularly beautiful in autumn.
Color spotter Jeri Rangel happened past the Bowerman Barn in Covington Mill and stopped to share its beauty. Black oak and cottonwood surround the pasture with bright color.
Bowerman Barn, Covington Mill, Shasta Cascade – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!