After a few days of hot and dry weather, I felt lethargic while I walked around in Brightwood Park.  It was a pleasant surprise to have a rain shower which was not in the forecast for the night of June 22.  The next morning, I could not wait to check what the rain brought to the park.  Bright-colored slime molds and mushrooms were the first to catch my eye.  They appeared in multiple places.  

The flora of wood ear mushrooms was revived by rain water.  Somehow when I observed shapes like a human face and a hood left behind, I was reminded of the story of Little Red Riding Hood. 

As sun rays brought a sense of vitality to the trees, bushes, and flowers, a stalk of common mullein flowers proudly stood out in the woods like a monument and landmark.

At this time of summer, most of the young birds have already grown up and left their nests.  I happened to see in a tree hole, a young northern flicker being mouth-fed by its mom.  This young one was probably the last in the class to graduate.  The nest became empty when I checked it the next day.  I wonder if the holes with a pattern at the base of the tree were the street address marked by the woodpecker resident. 

 Despite the heat wave, Brightwood Park is like a museum run by a highly motivated, creative, and energetic staff.  New pieces of art keep appearing in the exhibition.  In the past three days, ghost pipe plants sprouted in multiple places.  Clusters can be seen near the pond junctions, and by the trail parallel to Prospect Street.  

On the way from the main trail to the two-bridge trail, two bundles of beautiful and expressive fungi called bracket polypores can be found behind a large tree.  I received a thumbs up by them for my attention to their beautiful flowers.

 The continued high temperatures last week began to affect the wildlife in Brightwood Park.  Reduction of activities was obvious.  Birds and rodents were turning lethargic.  Even the spiders decided to take a break.  The yellow patch of  slime mold (or fungus) kept its beauty for only one day and then dried up.  Only the flowers close to the pond and the ducks having access to the water were still thriving.

 On a recent morning I saw a patch of a yellow-colored organism on my walk half way between the two-pond junction and the dam area.  I saw something similar near Prospect Street entrance and previously reported it .  Slime mold usually turns over in a day, either drying up or more likely, becoming a "Brightwood Delight" to slugs or other consumers.  I was particularly amazed to see creatures highly dependent on moisture survive and even thriving under the weather of drought and scorching heat.

As part of my "show and tell", I include a few photos of spiderwebs in the park.  These were taken in the area next to the two-pond junction.  Spiders are like fishermen, knowing where to lay nets together to maximize their harvests.  While most of the webs are flat, the one shown in the last photo has a 90 degree bending to become three-dimensional.

 ​Summer is a time when parties never stop in Brightwood Park.  Plants and wild lives dress up to add colors and fun to the place.  Spiders are usually not popular to most of us.  However, they are recognized as remarkable engineers and artists in the woods, particularly at sunrise hour.

This morning when I first walked into the park, a few blue jays were hanging out by the dogwood tree.  One of them was making an ugly face to another who was either burping or yawning.

A mother and daughter pair of mallard ducks have swimming routine everyday at dawn, occasionally accompanied by a few wood ducks.  I was curious about not having seen any males for a few days and wondered if a guys' party was being held, but I was not invited.

Despite the heat and the drought, several plants are still blooming.  Of particular interest is that a patch of slime mold made an appearance on a log near the Prospect Street entrance.  This kind of creature usually proliferates and expands after rain.  Under dry weather, it becomes like potato chips or powder-like.  I guess this one here woke up from dormancy to contribute a colorful piece to a jigsaw puzzle game presenting a remarkable Brightwood Park scenery picture.

I hope you stay cool and have a wonderful week.