Wednesday walk at forest in 16 fotos .:. EN/RU

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(Edited)

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This is a post to go with #WednesdayWalk challenge by @tattoodjay

Today's Wednesday walk will not be ordinary. Usually I present the streets of St. Petersburg. Those who follow me are in the know that right now I am having a holidays week at my summer house. We have wonderful hot sunny weather and no rain at all (which is bad for mushrooms) but great for macro photography.

Сегодняшняя средовая прогулка будет необычной. Обычно я гуляю по улицам Петербурга. Кто меня смотрит, те знают что я провожу неделю каникул в летнем домике. У нас стоит замечательная жаркая солнечная погода и совсем нет дождей (что плохо для грибов), но отлично для макро-фотографии.


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This afternoon my wife and I went for a walk to the nearest forest, and of course, in addition to a bottle of water, I took with me the camera and two lenses: tele-macro and 16-35mm. Accompanied by these friends, the walk promised to be pleasant. Unfortunately, it was not, cause we were joined by unexpected companions - mosquitoes and horseflies. Mosquitoes still can be somehow dealt with and tolerated, but it was impossible to walk under the constant attack of a hungry and evil buzzing flock of horseflies.

Сегодня после обеда мы с женой пошли гулять в лес по соседству, и конечно кроме бутылочки с водой я взял с собой камеру и два объектива - теле-макро и 16-35мм. В сопровождении этих друзей мою прогулка обещала быть приятной. К сожалению, к нам присоединились еще и нежданные спутники - комары и слепни. Если комаров еще можно терпеть и обороняться, то гулять под непрестанным нападением голодной и зло жужжащей стаи слепней, было невозможно.


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So, it was a difficult walk, not a piece of cake, and soon the wife decided to split off and returned home. I did not want to give back so quickly, without any photo trophies. 🙃 Alas, the forest really stood empty and dry, and I didn’t come across much interesting stuff. But eventually, I managed to get something for my camera.

Это была трудная прогулка, и вскоре жена вернулась домой. Ну а я не хотел возвращаться так быстро, без фото-трофеев. Увы, лес действительно стоял пустой и сухой, и мне встретилось не так много чего интересного. Но всё же, кое-что я вам покажу.


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This was the first interesting find. I found feces (and a lot, during the whole walk I met 7-8 such piles). It is difficult for me to determine who their author is ... definitely not hares, perhaps moose? It would be interesting to know for sure, I did not know that elk can be found in our forests. Maybe @ksteem will drop 5c here?..

Это была первая интересная находка. Я нашел фекалии (причем много, за всю прогулку мне встретилось 7-8 таких кучек). Мне сложно определить, кто их автор... точно не зайцы, возможно, лоси? Было бы интересно узнать точно, я не знал что в наших лесах можно встретить лосей.


By the way, later I encountered two black grouse. I scared them out of the blueberry bushes, they fluttered out with such a strong noise that I was scared too! It is even under question who was more frightened, me or they. And of course, I didn't have time to take pictures.

Кстати, позже я встретил двух тетеревов. Я вспугнул их из кустов голубики, они выпорхнули с таких шумом, что я тоже испугался. Еще не известно, кто испугался больше. Никаких снимков, конечно, я сделать не успел (в тот момент к камере был прицеплен ширик, а не телевик...)


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Another pleasant and not at all rare find is forest orchids. This species is often found in our forest, 4 years ago I even dug up two orchids and transplanted them into my garden, where they still grow and feel safe.

Другая приятная, и совершенно не редкая находка - лесные орхидеи. Этот вид часто встречается в нашем лесу, 4 года назад я даже выкопал и пересадил две штуки в мой сад, где они до сих пор растут.


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I didn’t count on purpose, but during the whole walk I met, probably, 15-20 orchids, no less. The most pleasant meeting was a small clearing, where 5 orchids grew at once on one half meter. A family! Making a group portrait with a macro lens, however, turned out to be an almost mission impossible :)

Я специально не считал, но за всю прогулку мне встретилось, наверное, 15-20 орхидей, не меньше. Самой приятной встречей была небольшая полянка, на которой на одном полуметре росли сразу 5 орхидей. Но сделать групповой портрет макро-объективом оказалось невыполнимой задачей :)


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Having photographed a clearing of orchids from all sides, I ran further, fleeing from mosquitoes. I was walking through the land of moss, and made several attempts to focus on something, but alas. Macro photography truly requires concentration, and thanks to the horseflies, I was completely unable to freeze in one place and focus all my attention on the subjects. Absolutely no chances for alternate takes to make macro focus staking.

Сфотографировав полянку орхидей со всех сторон, я побежал дальше, спасаясь от комаров. Я шел по стране мха, и сделал несколько попыток сфокусироваться на чем-нибудь, но увы. Макрофотография воистину требует концентрации, а мне - спасибо слепням - совершенно не удавалось замерев на одном месте, фокусировать все внимание на объектах съемки.


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Frankly, I like this game to turn mosses and lichens into huge trees and alien-looking impenetrable jungle.

Не скрою, мне нравится эта игра - превращать мхи и лишайники в огромные деревья и непроходимые джунгли.


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So, due to moskitos and horseflies, the results were so-so mediocre, and surely nothing for focus-staking. I did a couple of clicks and ran on. I even collected a large broom of willow branches, which I used to fan myself constantly, like a cow's tail :) not a very funny sight, in fact ... Horseflies were like this:

Поэтому получились так себе средненькие результаты, и нет ничего для макро-стейкинга. Я делал пару кликов, и бежал дальше. Я даже собрал большой веник ивовых веток, которым непереставая обмахивался, точно корова хвостом :) Слепни были вот такие:


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A spruce cone, or rather, what is left of it - a chord and scales. I encountered quite a lot of such "skeletons". I assume that woodpeckers or crossbills did it, not squirrels.

Еловая шишка, а точнее, то что от нее осталось - хребет и чешуйки. Я встретил много таких "скелетиков". Предполагаю, что это поработали дятлы или клесты, а не белки.


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And now another great find. If @ratel hadn't informed me some time ago, I would have passed by and not even noticed... Do you see anything unusual in this photo? A rotten tree trunk, a pine cone, lichen scraps...

Еще одна интересная находка. Если бы не @ratel, я бы прошел мимо и не обратил внимания. Что интересного на этом фото? Трухлявый ствол дерева, сосновая шишка, обрывки лишайника...


The subject of interest here is the bump. More precisely, how she got stuck in the trunk. Before us is an example of the technology that woodpeckers use to peel seeds from cones. They insert a cone into a hollow or a fork in the trunk, get an emphasis, and then calmly hammer the cone, extracting the seeds. Touchy!

Предмет интереса здесь - шишка. Точнее, как она оказалась застрявшей в стволе. Перед нами - пример технологии, которую применяют дятлы для того, чтобы лущить семечки из шишек. Они вставляют шишку в дупло или развилку ствола, получают упор, и далее спокойно долбят шишку, извлекая семена. Любопытно!


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At some point, the mixed pine-willow forest mutated into a swamp, which is overgrown with blueberry bushes, blueberries, cranberries, silk grass, decorated with a carpet of green moss - and of course looks more beautiful. Here I was convinced that the ripening of blueberries is proceeding according to plan and heralds a harvest in July. I will definitely have to come back here in a month, and more than once!

В какой-то момент смешанный сосново-ивовый лес мутировал в болото, которое заросло кустами черники, голубики, клюквы, шелковой травой, украшено ковром зеленого мха - и выглядит конечно красивее. Здесь я убедился, что созревание голубики проходит по плану и предвещает урожай в июле. Надо будет обязательно вернуться сюда через месяц, и не раз!


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Silk grass is very enlivening and decorates the landscape.

Шелковая трава очень оживляет и украшает пейзаж.


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And this moth on a cranberry stem also decorates the landscape a lot. It posed for me perfectly, spending three minutes of its short life on me ... Let me finish my report with this shot, it was one of my fave from this day; after that there was only a boring way home.

Мотылёк на стебельке клюквы тоже украшает болото... и мой фотосет. Этот мотылек идеально попозировал мне, потратив на меня две минуты своей не слишком длинной жизни.... и пожалуй на этом кадре я закончу мой отчет, потому что дальше осталась только скучная дорога домой.


location: Vyritza, Russia June 2022 natural light
camera/lens: Canon 5D Sigma 150mm raw-conv
f/2.8 t 1/125 ISO 125 --

Thanks for walking with me, see you next time. Надеюсь, вам было приятно прогуляться со мной!

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All images taken by me, copyright (c) @qwerrie
My posts at pinmapple.com
Thanks for visiting my blog!


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29 comments
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Bang, I did it again... I just rehived your post!
Week 112 of my contest just started...you can now check the winners of the previous week!
!BEER
3

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Nice post, looks like a great place to explore! Maybe with a head net next time. I've found some of the turkey hunting setups that are a full mask coming out of a hat, but still see-through are great for fly infested woods.

It looks more like Large Deer scat to me, but could be Elk if they are in area. It seems too small and a little off-shape for Moose.

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thanks, I feel you definitely more expert than me, I simply dont rank.
(I've seen with my own eyes only hare and black grouse' scat at Ladoga skerries). I have very big doubts that we have moose or deer - any, large or small -- in our area. Thats why I was surprised encountering this - made me curious IF we have any of those animals in the forest, maybe just temporarily?..

btw, is there any difference -- Elk / Moose?.. which word I should use, is there any specific. I am not a native speaker, please educate me. and a Hive !BEER as a payment 😉

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Deer and Elk scat is very similar to what you show above. With Deer, the Doe's will generally be more round, and the Bucks larger oval/barrel shaped like that.. Moose scat is much larger, at least an inch (2.5 Centimeter) or more. They are three very different animals in shape and size, with moose the largest. Here is a good link with some examples.
https://www.fieldandstream.com/story/survival/hunters-guide-to-animal-poop/

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thats a very vivid table, thanks! indeed, most likely I had a deer flock, not a moose.

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Nice post, looks like a great place to explore!

it is a pleasure for me to spend time in the more swampy part of that forest - large green mossy plains, moths, berry bushes, poor unhealthy pines and a lot of sun. the other part is not that fancy. my village is located to the south of St.Petersburg where I live, in quite a swampy area. The forests to the north of the city - in Karelia - are all pines, sandy soil, a lot of granite stones, that area is also more rich with mushrooms. But I have what I have 😎

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Your wife can't be blamed for running away from horseflies, horrible things! Despite that, you got a great post in showing us your micro world. Much enjoyed, even with no mushrooms! Makes me want to go take some macro shots in my secret forest next door.

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Much enjoyed, even with no mushrooms!

haha! actually, I got some. Tho they are no that fancy, rather 'of special intrest' and I gonna share them in more dedicated community. On the way back how there were a lot of flowers, at the others villagers places, and I did some macros as well. It is very tempting and joyful time-spending, a special sort of travelling-not-moving-from-your-back-yard, haha. Let me share here with you one more macro capture from this walk, to solidify your decision to go out with macro lens!

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the ants sugar plantation of aphids, on a thistle stem :) right in this photo you can’t see an ant “milking” the sweet syrup from aphids, but it can be seen sometimes in other photos.
!PIZZA for you

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Wow that's super special!! I totally get the time travel thing. Exactly what I feel like looking for fungi, with or without a camera!

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time travel thing?... I am extremely happy to hear that.. but I dont understand why, what is the connotation here. ok, anyway I promise to put out my post with little fungi finds, at least I will have one vivid reader 🙏

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It is very tempting and joyful time-spending, a special sort of travelling-not-moving-from-your-back-yard

Sorry I sleepily condensed that, half asleep and didn't explain properly. Like you lose yourself in macro world... In such a small space. Changes how you experience time and space!

Always love fungi posts from you!

I have a new fungi foraging hoodie too...so I can stay warm whilst talking to mushrooms 🤪

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Where is the photo of the Cow's tail ? :-D

Nice photos and writeup. The horseflies are news to me and they looks quite big and scary. I can manage mosquito bites but may not be the case with such big flies for sure.

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So your guides were mozzies and horseflies and I don't think that could have been pleasant.
We have a special organic spray here made from the juices of the weeds that they hate and when I go into the bush they all stay away from me. I simply spray my clothes !LOL

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is it a DIY homemade spray?.. would !LUV to have smth like that too... sadly, seems those beasts are immune to anything. at least after 0.5-1 hour(s) ...

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No, we buy the spray at the local camping shops as they sell outdoor equipment and other items that are of use in nature. I don't know if you will have it in Russia but you can try to get it online.
The name is; Reitzer's Anti Mozzie range.
Plant base repellent derived from the essential oils of citronella, lemon grass and Tea Tree.

!PIZZA

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oils of citronella, lemon grass and Tea Tree -- sounds like a decent mix to me. !LUV

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(Edited)

Yep and it works indeed. I spray it on my clothes and shoes and no insects come near me.
Last year small spiders crawled up my legs and bit me several times. I left me with burning legs at night that lasted for 2 days and I still have the bite spots on my legs.
Then my wife discovered this organic spray and since then nothing, no bites.

!LUV

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Мотылёк совершенно очаровательный! Шишка в стволе дерева удивила 👍. Отличная прогулка получилась и фото замечательные, как всегда.

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ну не совсем так, бывали прогулки и получше :) но кое-что интересное встретить удалось. такую дятлову "рабочую площадку по выколачиванию" сам впервые встретил! спасибо.

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I thought i had commented on this but clearly I missed it, it is quite a change for you but a beautiful change
I am no expert on feces, but that does kind of look like deer scat I have seen on a deer farm back in NZ

Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk :), I truly enjoy exploring the world virtually each Wednesday seeing walks from all around the globe and feeling I am there and experiencing it all myself, such as I did in your post just now :)

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