Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄
LightNews LightNews
banner
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄
@dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
2.4K followers 810 following 2.1K posts
I post🍄🌲🪴pics taken on my daily hikes w/ Winston 🐕
The forest is my happy place & helps regulate my PTSD
Lefty atheist 🖋️📸 mycophile INFJ
Former USAF weather forecaster turned enviro-scientist
MS in Geoscience
Real conversation w/ compassion
Gaza=Genocide
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
Dusty McDusterson (He/Him) 🍄 @dustymcdusterson.bsky.social · Nov 10
Exploring the midnight #KingTide at #TwanohStatePark was fascinating.

One of my favorite sightings was watching this Purple Shore Crab, Hemigrapsus nudus, burying itself in the sand.
#LowTide #Crabs #Nature
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
It's a crazy world out there. A few observations from the forest to ground us.❤️

📸1: Peekaboo, a pale friend hiding under a fern frond
📸2: Moss bell? Sap covered #Moss
📸3: Still not sure if these black hair like structures I often find on dead red belted conks is #Fungi or #SlimeMold
📸4: I'm pointy!
January 25, 2026 at 3:36 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
I returned to one of my productive #SlimeMold logs today. First time I've expressed slime mold spores!

Thanks @regularslimeguy.bsky.social and @nuiipointer.bsky.social for the suggestion to keep revisiting!

I think these might be the latest succession of Hemitrichia calyculata. 📸🍄 #Nature
January 25, 2026 at 1:54 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
When taking pictures for focus stacking, I've found taking a placeholder shot with my hand in the way to be the easiest way to differentiate between series.

In this instance I had a relatively "long" exposure time of 1/3 sec. I was so excited to capture the next series I ghosted myself. #Fungi 🍄📷 🌱
A single image where I must have had miraculously fast hands to still be able to see the fungi clearly with just 1/3 of a second of exposure time. Taken with my Canon 70D DSLR.
January 24, 2026 at 8:03 PM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
Some observations from today's walk in Banner.
📸1/2: Yet to be ID'f species, I'm assuming Cortinarius genus, with a super thick fuzzy veil/cortina.
📸3: I believe these are Robust bracket, Fomitiporia robusta
📸4: Red belted conk being parasitized. Note the black hairs
#FungiFriends #Fungi
They are quite large. I need to start bringing objects for scale to be able to provide perspective. The pillowy like fungal growth on top looks familiar and is the more common parasite that I see, I've posted on them before but for the life of me can't remember the name of the species. I don't know if the black hair is associated with that fungi or if it is a separate species also using the deceased Red Belted Polypore fungi.
January 24, 2026 at 5:29 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
This was a fun find from today's venture into Banner Forest Heritage Park in Port Orchard Washington.

I believe this to be the Ringed Brittlestem, Psathyrella longistriata. #FungiFriends #Fungi #Nature

My understanding is those fuzzy feet allow the fungi to get the O2 they need.
a composite of 20 images focus stacked to create this image with a much broader depth of field. The fungi's striped cap composed of whitish fibrils made for a distinctive look that stood out. The white stipe has a ring of the former veil still attached. The base is a bit woolly with tiny white fuzz that I believe aids in gas exchange that due to current environmental conditions it is unable to properly perform so these fuzzy feet occur and help with obtaining more O2.
January 24, 2026 at 4:41 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
Guttating Conks Galore!
Post 1 of 5
#FungiFriends #Guttation #Fungi #Nature

One of my favorite Red Belted Conk found so far this year.
January 22, 2026 at 3:01 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
This Douglas Fir fell mid-2024 & has yet to touch the ground, having been suspended in the crotch of Cedar, which makes viewing their beautiful conks so much easier. #FungiFriends #Fungi

The conks below in the comments and posted earlier today/yesterday were all from the same suspended Fir trunk.
January 22, 2026 at 2:39 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
My eyes still overlook #SlimeMold more often than I would like.

But at least this time they were mostly in focus, even if I only noticed them when back home.

In this case, I guess I can't complain too much when I had such a beautiful #Guttation jeweled specimen distracting me. #FungiFriends #Fungi
A large likely Red Belted conk growing on a fallen Douglas fir. Another baby conk, also with guttation is visible to the right with the mass of white slime mold without any visible stems seen growing on the moss in between the 2 conks.
January 22, 2026 at 2:26 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
Three clusters of possible Clitocybe sclerotoidea, or the Parasitic Clitocybe.

They parasitize the Elfin Saddle species Helvella lacunosa. #Fungi

I wish I had dug around & explored their base a bit, as apparently their sclerotium incorporates remnants of the Elfin Saddle. #FungiFriends
Winston relaxing on a bed of moss watching me as I take pictures of the fungi.
January 21, 2026 at 5:15 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
I love when the whole conk has fresh new growth.

Especially when they're super chunky like this cartoon ape head covered in #Guttation!
#FungiFriends
January 21, 2026 at 5:00 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
A couple more observations from this weekend.
📸1/2: A couple clusters of Bird Nest fungi. One has so much #Guttation
📸3: A pair of Hare's Ears, Otidea onotica
📸4: A forest alter requires an offering
#FungiFriends #Fungi #Nature
Same fungi from an earlier post but with better focus on the guttation droplets. A cluster of birds nest fungi growing among moss and plants of unknown species. Look at all that guttation on the plants, so many droplets especially on the source grases. Where'd the rest of the hare go?!? A pair of fungi, as found, sprouting from the forest litter. Their curled cup like fungi shape is espresso creme color with a smooth surface. An offering for the forest gods? Alas I had nothing to offer this time and beg their mercy.
January 21, 2026 at 4:46 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
A couple species of Birds Nest #Fungi

The white furry cup ones on this stem had their "eggs" still "incubating" with a surprising amount of #Guttation. #FungiFriends

The other, moved from a few inches away, found growing on a decomposing leaf with their #Eggs fully exposed, yearning for the rain.
Three birds nest fungi with their caps still intact growing atop a fallen stem of an unknown species of understory. The base that is comparable to the "nest" is cream colored and fuzzy with a cap of a beautiful golden brown with 2 out of 3 of the caps having lots of guttation. A second species was found nearby growing on a partially decomposed leaf that I believe was a big leaf maple. This specimen was found about 4 inches to the right of this image and was gently transported over to be more easily compared side by side. The "eggs" are fully exposed and a stark white that does stand out in contrast to the interior of the light brown "nest". The exterior of this one is a reddish brown and smooth.
January 21, 2026 at 4:30 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
A nearby forest that has seen a lot of extraction over the last century routinely excretes bottles from their duff. #Nature

My favorite to find are the occasional ones that have their own ecosystem in a bottle. #Moss

I believe these are likely from the 1960s. #AltText
I backlit this one with my portable LED light. This would have been the perfect shot to use the DSLR and focus stack but I didn't realize it until too late. But, I left this in place and am aware of 2 other identical ones with healthy green insides elsewhere in the forest. I'll definitely do some experimenting with these, with candlelight could be a lot of fun too. A side shot as I found it but backlit by 2 of my LED lights. This bottle reminds me of modern day vinigar bottles which makes me wonder if that was what this originally contained before becoming its own ecosystem in a bottle The bottle possibly could have emerged here but it more likely was found by a previous guest of the forest from years or decades ago and left here in what to me looks like a less dynamic part of the forest floor. Nearby a mound of what had likely been a 1960s trash pile that after very brief exploration yielded several other intact bottles, as well as broken plates, incandescent light bulbs and a Pocket watch manufactured between 1950-1970. A couple of nearby bottles found in what had likely been a trash pile with I assume stumps and other wood debris from a previous logging event this forest experienced. As the organic matter decomposes the inorganic trash becomes exposed. When walking through forests that have experienced widespread logging i routinely find these sort of dumps from decades prior working their way through to the surface. The brown bottle had an interesting texture and the word PUREX embossed into it.
January 20, 2026 at 2:42 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
I finally stumbled upon the #Abandoned bus again in Banner. It's definitely seen some better days. #Forest

I don't think the roof had collapsed yet when I came across it a few years back. I either didn't take pictures then or I deleted them, so unfortunately no before/after shots.
January 20, 2026 at 1:37 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
Check out this stinking cute little bugger that reminded me of driving through Gilroy California, home of a famous Garlic festival.

Backed by the cabbage/fetid garlic aroma, I'm fairly confident this is Thelephora palmata, the Stinking Earth Fan or my favorite the Fetid False Coral. #Fungi 🍄📸 🌱
January 17, 2026 at 1:57 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
I initially assumed slime mold but they turned out to be tiny bonnet fungi!

Pointer finger for scale. #FungiFriends
#Nature #Fungi #Moss

More pictures below to get a better sense of their diminutive size.
A pair of tiny bonnet fungi with stark white in its entirety sprouts from the side of a fallen Alder. The pad of a forefinger looms ominously above these tiny adorable creatures. Worry not, no fungi were disturbed taking these pictures. A couple strands of moss have gained purchase on this recently exposed face in the fallen Alder.
January 15, 2026 at 3:55 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
3 species of #SlimeMold found on one young Douglas Fir trunk. #Nature

Check out the video in the comments exploring the these & 7+ other species making just a few feet of this tree's trunk their home. #FungiFriends
A species of slime mold with thick ochre colored stalks and grey spherical tops. Growing on the moist dark brown bark of what I believe to be a teenage Douglas fir. A grouping of white slime mold without any stalks seen growing on some sap from one of the fissures that had developed and ruptured. I initially just assumed this to be dried crystalized sap but realized some of the white globules were definitely slime mold. A grouping of yellow bulbous slime mold growing from the same trunk just a few inches away.
January 12, 2026 at 2:44 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
Finding these whimsical #Lichen communities brings me so much joy.

The amalgamation of structures created by 2+ species working in harmony is a mind-bogglingly awesome sight to behold.

I believe this cluster is predominantly Powderhorn. The middle-back is 2 more species. #FungiFriends #Moss
A cluster of possibly 3 distinct lichen species growing on the remnants of a stump. I love how these have both vegetative and and fungal type structures. I assume the vegetative blueprints crime from the cyanobacterium or Algae with the fruiting body limb/structure coming mainly from the fungal genetics. Such fascinating communities! A composite of 17 images focus stacked.
January 12, 2026 at 1:17 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
Lots of #Guttation on these 2 #Fungi

The first is the fruiting body of a plant pathogen Chondrostereum purpureum, the cause of Silver Leaf disease.

The second is another plant pathogen, likely a Red Belted Polypore seen from 3 angles with fresh growth & apparently way too much water. #FungiFriends
A head on picture with a very wide depth of field due to supplemental lighting and a fair amount of natural light filtering through the clouds. Same fungi as image 2 but with my phones macro lens. The lower bump isn’t in focus but the bulk of the larger fungi and guttation is. Same fungi again but taken from the left. In this case the depth of field includes the lower bump and its tiny guttation.
January 10, 2026 at 4:32 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
Some of today’s observations
📸1: Another round of winter chanterelle has emerged
📸2: A Moss Bell
📸3: A stick with likely Yellow Hat Jelly, Dacrymyces capitatus & Winston’s fluffy butt
📸4: An interesting unknown plant growing in the crook of a fallen tree’s upturned roots
#FungiFriends #Fungi #Moss
January 10, 2026 at 4:05 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
I spotted at least 2 #SlimeMold species on this standing Red Alder.

The black stalked, represented by specimens of varying maturity as evidenced by their color ranging from white to pink to brown & the less prolific orange species, sans stalks, seen growing predominantly on #Moss
#FungiFriends
Thin black stalks with white heads that I believe turn brown with age based on the range of specimens found in the other 2 pictures of this post. A good example of the different stages of what I believe is the same species of slime mold. The whiter ones are the less mature, the pinkish hued ones in the upper middle of frame are an intermediate stage and the final stage are brown ones seen near the top in tighter clusters. A glimpse of the second species can be seen near the top with the orange colored slime mold that doesn’t have stalks. The orange spots here are I believe the 2nd species. I think the white, pinkish and brown ones are all the same species at different stages. The orange ones don’t have stems are were found predominantly growing on the moss “stems”.
January 9, 2026 at 8:46 PM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
As someone who struggles with political posts triggering my PTSD, I try & stick to posting only nature observations.

That notion was reinforced with my most recent mushroom experience where I learned that in these dark times, noting & sharing nature's beauty is ever so important for...🧵1/5
ICE Out For Good Port Orchard · Indivisible
Wednesday, January 7th, an American citizen was killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This killing is part of a broader pattern of unchecked violence, impunity...
www.mobilize.us
January 9, 2026 at 7:11 PM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
A couple pictures of the likely Snow-White Crust, Plicatura nivea as seen in the video posted earlier.

Found growing on a standing Red Alder, Alnus rubra. #FungiFriends #Fungi #Nature #Moss

Looks like it's being parasitized by a fungal species of the hairy variety. So much fluff in one place!
January 9, 2026 at 3:17 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
I believe this is a large grouping of Snow-White Crust, Plicatura nivea.

Look at that #Guttation! Like little balls of sunshine.

Reminiscent of marshmallows. I'll have to handle one next video to demonstrate how pliable they are. #FungiFriends #Fungi #Nature

More in #AltText including music info
January 9, 2026 at 2:54 AM
dustymcdusterson.bsky.social
It's that time of year again...when the bird's nest fungi are really taking off!!

Now's your best chance to see all their stages as they transition!

I think these were exposed a bit too early which makes me wonder at what point it's too early for viable spores to be produced.
#FungiFriends #Fungi
A group of birds nest fungi grow on a stem that's surrounded by a massive number of tiny hair covered plants, as found. The nest in the foreground is in focus but on the cusp of not being so. The "egg" spore satchels are still suspended in the goo, technical term there, that they grew up in and protected them. Their cap has been mostly torn off but some remnants remain in the top portion with tiny bits also seen along the rim. Another of the same species but with its cap mostly intact is seen in the middle of the frame but barely out of focus. Its cap is torn making the inside "goo" visible. At least 26 separate caps/cups/nests seen here, including at least one that's decided to sprout in the cup of possibly its parent or a cousin. The brown cap with a small orange speck in the middle is a successional fungi.
January 5, 2026 at 12:15 AM