Weird giant mushrooms
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This post is a bit of an aside, and describes a situation which popped up in the back yard of HQ, here in Pittsburgh’s Dormont. Weird giant mushrooms, which arise shortly after heavy rain events, and display an incredible amount of growth in quite a short interval.
The thingie pictured above transformed into the flopped over monster seen below, and all within 24 hours.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I put a soda can alongside of the fungal protuberance for scale.
Big, I tell you, it was big.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At night, the thing began to balloon out and open. By the time that this process played out, the crown of the mushroom had flattened out and got to the size of a dinner plate with about a one inch hard vertical edge.
It’s odd.
Incidentally, these mushrooms weren’t glowing red, instead I had set my pocket led flashlight to red earlier, and couldn’t remember how to actuate the combination of clicks required to get it back to displaying white light.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
When it fully opens, the mushroom displays its gills and flops over. The spores will fall out of the gills, onto soil or to get picked up on the wind.
A quick google search revealed these mushrooms as likely being ‘Green-Gill Parasols,’ a poisonous specie colloquially known as ‘The Vomiter.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One wasn’t satisfied with that first shot of the flopped over mushroom, and had to rearrange my flashlight’s luminance because that sort of thing matters to me.
What piqued my interest about these things was the fact that my back yard here in Dormont is an herbivore superhighway. Deer, woodchucks, groundhogs, two different kinds of squirrel, a population of rabbits so extensive that we’ve started giving them names. All these critters drive Moe the Dog absolutely crazy.
All of those herbivores, and not one single nibble into those giant, weird mushrooms. The Vomiter, indeed.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Thereby- I present the Vomiter to you, lords and ladies, lit up in scarlet.
Somehow it feels like the last seventeen years of my life have all been leading up to offering that last sentence.
Back tomorrow with something different.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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All you kids, say ‘Hey Now’
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
These locomotive shots were gathered during various summer outings in Pittsburgh, and likely captured sometime around the end of July or early August. Mostly during short walks that I was taking here and there, or while waiting for something else to happen and killing some time.
On CSX’s tracks, along the southern shore of the Monongahela River, I spotted a BNSF train set – which is extraordinary to my experience in Pittsburgh.
Normally, you just see CSX blue and gold rolling through here.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A Norfolk Southern unit, seen from the same South Side Flats area as the BNSF train above, but transiting on an elevated trestle along the face of Mount Washington. The ramps surrounding it are vehicular roadways, specifically the PJ McArdle Roadway at the top and Sycamore Street directly above the train.
The business of life finds me visiting many sections of the city, not just the areas where which I particularly like waving the camera about, such as here on the South Side.
When I’m out for walk, however, I like scenery.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Over on the north side, during one of those walks in the Manchester/Chateau neighborhood, this Norfolk Southern unit seemed to just be aching for something to do.
You’ll often see a double engine like this just sitting there idling at rail yards, with this one dubbed as being the Island Avenue Yard.
It was difficult angle to shoot from, over fences and through surveyor holes, so a move was busted and I found a better POV.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There we are.
I wasn’t satisfied yet, and so began scuttling South. Towards Allegheny Commons Park, and that cool rail trench it hosts.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey Now!
These shots were captured during that brutally hot interval at the end of July. and the beginning of August. Was not fun being out, and especially not so with the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself staring at my back. Always keep the light source behind you, or just to the side…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Not going to lie, this T light rail shot was captured in the same session as the BNSF one at the top, but it does illustrate my mass transit journey back to HQ.
Back tomorrow with something different – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
Quarry Scuttle
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Another day, another scuttle.
Back to Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes for this one, and another walk that I’ve been ‘saving up’ for myself. I’ve wanted to, but… Y’know… the broken ankle. Now that your humble narrator is more or less ‘back,’ one decided that it was time – at last – to check out the South Side Quarry park.
This pathway spends a bit of distance in an area designated as parkland, and then spits you back out onto South 21st street in the South Side Flats.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It took a bit of bobbing and weaving to get there, but it wasn’t a difficult walk at all. I had myself dropped off by a rideshare, at a convenient spot, and then off I went.
Scuttle, scuttle, scuttle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
From the other/street facing side of these homes, all you’d see is a single story and a set of steps leading downwards. There’s a path here which leads directly into the park itself.
South Side Park was ‘established’ in 1965. Here’s the wikipedia page about it, and I’m led to believe that the pathway/park that I was walking through used to be used for the combination of an incline funicular, and there was also a brick manufacturing outfit.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The place was deserted, but to be fair – it was a weekday afternoon.
My plan for the day started here, but there were also other things I wanted to do and see around this ‘zone.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That 1939 vintage metal bridge, pictured above, carries a local street over the ravine and it’s called the Mission Street Bridge.
I ran into, and joked around with, some dude walking his dog right around here. I’m garrulous, so I made him laugh. My work was done. The dog was nice too, but wanted to get on with his sniffing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Surprisingly there’s another set of City Steps here, which fall off of the Mission Street Bridge, and that’s something which I’ll have to inspect on my next walk through this area.
Back tomorrow with more.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
Open Streets Lawrenceville
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Back in late July, Out Lady and I attended the ‘BikePGH’ group’s ‘Open Streets Lawrenceville’ event.
As is usual with such promotions, a multi mile stretch of city streets were blocked off to vehicular traffic, and a festival atmosphere promulgated.
This one played out on ‘Butler Street,’ which is kind of the ‘main drag’ for this area, and these ‘Open Streets’ continued on and into the Strip District, where Smallman Street was similarly closed to non human powered vehicles.
As is usually the case, the people who yell the loudest about motor vehicles on the road ‘harshing their buzz’ are the same ones who ride their bikes about with impunity, and we pedestrians were still largely consigned to sidewalks or the empty parking lanes along the curbs.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Old man yelling at passing cloud, that’s me.
We had a nice time. Our Lady hadn’t explored this section yet, and she was excited about a few things along the route, which she plans on returning to in the future when I’m not there to glower. We had a nice lunch at a restaurant along the route, dubbed ‘Industrial Publick House,’ which I’d guess as wanting to be described as being a ‘gastropub.’
I don’t even know if that’s still a thing, gastropub, but there we are.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was hot, which isn’t surprising given that it was late July. If you’re able to recall the summer despite everything, you may remember that the eastern half of the nation was in the grip of high heat and humidity, which was followed by vast thunderstorm systems transiting through, which ended up barreling across the continent. This was ‘then.’
I’m used to the ‘shvitz,’ given my habit of scuttling through and over and around things in all sorts of climate, but Our Lady was definitely not happy about the weather. One thing about walking down the middle of a street is that there is no tree cover, and the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself is staring right down at the top of your noggin.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Our goal was to use the Light Rail to get back to HQ and Moe the Dog, but we had a couple/three miles to walk – in the sun – and just after having finished a meal. Grin and bear it, mustn’t grumble… Our Lady is British, and absolutely brimming with cheerful aphorisms for tough times.
She doesn’t sing rhyming songs in bars, I’d mention.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
31st street, and I was still married.
Our Lady was reconsidering everything by this point, so I decided not to throw in an ‘it’s all downhill from here’ crack. Luckily, we had both brought water bottles with us.
On and on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
16th street, and still married.
Eventually, we arrived at a T Light Station about 3/4 of a mile away from this bridge. Air conditioning on the T, and a quick return ride to Dormont saw my relationship status continue to improve.
By the time we got back to Moe, I was ‘in like Flynn’ again, and her hatred of walking the hot summer streets in baking sun had abided.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
Running Dry
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Our Lady of the Pentacle was busy, with a class she’s taking in Pittsburgh’s Bridgeville section, and your humble narrator had an hour or so to kill before having to pick her up and drive her back to Moe the Dog.
An hour isn’t really all that long a time, as far as ‘getting into it’ photography wise, so my plan was to find some flowing water and use those new lens filters and ‘superclamp’ setup recently acquired.
I headed over to the nearby ‘Whiskey Boys trail’ where there’s meant to be a wooden bridge spanning a stream.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I had to walk ‘in’ a bit to get there.
I’ve been here before but on a different pathway, with Moe the Dog.
This is a prepared crushed limestone trail for most of the way, with a nice firmament for hiking. It’s kind of buggy in there, but Pennsylvania is uniformly kind of buggy in the summer. Functioning ecosystem, huh?
The whole state is pretty much upstate New York, but with more woods, and a whole lot more in the way of mountains and streams.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
When I got there, it was discovered that this is now a ‘former’ stream.
Here I am standing in the stream bed, and shooting pics of a bridge that spans no water, troubled or otherwise.
Cannot win.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One is looking forward to some sort of autumn this year. I lost two autumns in a row to the broken ankle, and there’s a tiny voice in my head that keeps saying ‘you’re missing out.’
Have to come up with a plan…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The time warp is still deeply in effect here at Newtown Pentacle.
These shots are from the 25th of July, and this post is being written during an early morning in mid August, whereas the publish date for this post is set for late September.
At this rate, you’ll be seeing Halloween stuff for Christmas.
Saying that, I’m still able to offer a daily post, which arrives in your e-mailbox in the manner of a metronome. Enjoy it while it lasts, folks.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This blog will eventually cease publication, as a note.
I do have a date in mind for when that’ll happen, but that’s still years away. It would be unlike me not to make a big deal of something major as it’s approaching, so don’t worry. Nothing is ending anytime soon, and I’ve still got a LOT of stuff I want to see, do, and explore in these postings.
Alternatively, I could have a stroke or get hit by a car tomorrow, so…
Back next week with something different – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
