SCARLET CUP MUSHROOM IN OXFORD

Donald A. Windsor

On Sunday morning 14 April 2013, along the Finger Lakes Trail about midway between Buckley Hollow and State Route 12, In the Town of Oxford, Anne Altshuler noticed several Scarlet Cup Mushrooms Sarcoscypha coccinea.  Two groups were present, one with at least 6 and the other with 3.

This photo was taken by Dot Rice.

A good description is given by Lincoff, but this species is not even mentioned by Phillips.  Anne identified it using Pacioni and Lincoff.

References cited:

Lincoff, Gary H.  Scarlet Cup Sarcoscypha coccinea.  In: The Audubon Society Field Guide To The Mushrooms. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.  1981. Pages 343-344, Plate 605.

Phillips, Roger.  Mushrooms of North America.  Boston, MA:  Little, Brown & Co. 1991. 320 pages.

Pacioni, Giovanni ; Lincoff, Gary, Editors.  Scarlet Cup Sarcoscypha coccinea. In: Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mushrooms. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.  1981. Plate/page 415.

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TRI-TOWN MARKER FOR GERMAN, MCDONOUGH, AND SMITHVILLE

Donald A. Windsor

The historical Tri-Town Marker for the borders of German, McDonough, and Smithville was still in place on Sunday 7 April 2013.

It is a sandstone rock at least a foot wide, a half-foot thick and 2 feet deep, perhaps deeper.  It is hard to find, so I like to visit it every few years, just so I can remember where it is.

An article about this marker appears in my book, cited below.

Reference cited:

Windsor, D. A.  The most significant corner in Chenango County.  In:  Souvenirs of Yesteryear. Norwich, NY: self-published.  2008. 1:28-29.

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STARNOSE MOLE IN MCDONOUGH

Donald A. Windsor

A dead Starnose Mole was lying in the intersection of Steere and Sherman-Bliven roads in the Town of McDonough on Sunday 24 March 2013, around noon.

My wallet, which is 4 1/2 inches long, appears below the mole.  According to Burt and Grossenheider, the Starnose Mole head + body are 4 1/2 to 5 inches and the tail is 3 to 3 1/2 inches.

I was surprised to find this critter out above all the snow, which was at least 9 inches deep.  It did not appear to have been hit by a vehicle.  Perhaps it was caught by a predator and then discarded. 

Reference cited:

Burt, W.H. ; Grossenheider, R.P.  Starnose Mole Condylura cristata.  In: A Field Guide to the Mammals.  Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. 2nd Ed. 1964. Pages 16-17, 20.

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BEE TREE

Donald A. Windsor

Wild honey bees nest inside hollow trees and we sometimes find them flying in and out of an opening.  However, I have never seen the inside of a natural hive.

Until Sunday morning on a Bullthistle Hike through the Basswood State Forest in Oxford.  We were taking a well-deserved break on and around a large fallen tree trunk, when Dot Rice noticed the hollow tree trunk contained a bee hive.

The bees probably abandoned the hive when the tree blew over, apparently several years ago, because the wax honeycombs had deteriorated to a fragile dry material.

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EARLY HISTORY OF THE TOWNS

Donald A. Windsor

Here are the maps I will use in my presentation on Tuesday 5 March 2013 at the Norwich YMCA at 7:00 pm.

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