mnprairiegal's Journal

This was such a surprise to mind in the woods. I don't always find slime mold, but this species was hard to miss by its bright color. I didn't see any sexual structures, but the cytoplasm streaming occurring around the margins suggested a slime mold identification.

At the beginning of the month I visited Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park. The purpose was to investigate if the Dwarf Trout Lily was blooming. While hiking down to the falls, I came across an over-filled vernal pool that the trail edged around. Before I was even close to the water I was aware of presence of many toads. They called loudly to one another, paying no attention to me as I got closer. The temperature was almost to 90 degrees F, which was for early May is odd. The frogs took advantage of this first warm day to mingle with potential mates. Multiple groups of toads wrestled which I imagined was some kind of spawning event. It was just a odd and close encounter with an amphibian species.