The wonders of Nevada City nature

...some of which are more wonderful than others.

A ponderosa pine doing its best to become a flowering plant:



A black morel, I'm told; "probably the greatest tasting mushroom you will ever find" (although I myself wouldn't dare). From last month, in a shady north-facing side yard.


What is this?



And, in the "red in tooth and claw" dept, it seems the Hall's Hardy Almond isn't so hardy after all, at least not in the Glacier Gulch area (microclimate) of Nevada City; the street trees I planted and nurtured (and sometimes neglected) are dying.


They came down with gummosis; I was told to rub the wounds with bleach, but I guess once it's systemic, it's too late.