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Meteorology

Twenty inches of rain fell on our county last month. That's about the average of precipitation in a whole year in Boulder. And the best part is that we don't get that sticky clay mud. I sure don't miss walking the dog after a good rain and quickly accumulating a 2 inch thick platform of mud on the soles of my shoes.

Entomology

Instead, I quickly accumulate a swarm of voracious mosquitoes that ignore insect repellents and bite through clothes. The local paper says that observation traps are yielding four times more mosquitoes than usual. Plus, this year the West Nile Virus reached New Jersey from Colorado and sickened a man in a neighboring town. But those mosquitoes are amateurs compared a new black and white striped invader called the Asian tiger mosquito. It can spread 30 different diseases, including Dengue fever. And if that's not bad enough, it feeds on people and mammals all day long, not just at dawn and dusk like their more civilized relatives.

Mycology

Mushrooms are popping up all along the east coast, thanks to all the rain. Science Friday on NPR did a fascinating video about the mushrooms. It inspired me to go out and take pictures of what is growing around our house. I was even able to identify a few:

Stink Horn mushrooms
(they really stink)

Polypores

Cup Mushrooms busily decomposing
their wood mulch host

I think this might be another example
of a Polypore

In between the first two mushrooms
is a Dead Man's Finger mushroom,
part of the Earth Tongue family

Horticulture

I've been accepted to the Mercer County Master Gardeners program! My first class starts this Thursday. By the Spring, hopefully, I'll have a better idea what I'm writing about.