KathrynAnnTaylor

One of my favorite kind of beetles because they squeak very loudly if picked up. If you want to hear it, overturn an old rotting log, and sift around. That's their favorite hiding spot, I've found.

Wow, that is so cool! Mushrooms, well puffbal type mushrooms, growing in the desert!

I honestly don't see a spider. That is not a spider's web, it is the web of Hyphantria cunea, or webworms. You can just make out the mass of their bodies in the middle, and their droppings a little below. What may at first glance appear to be a spider, looks to me like one of the dead leaves, that they have expanded their web to contain.

This was a very dry specimen, but I'm pretty positive of the species, even without seeing the underside.

Holy cow, please say this was contained somewhere, and not just found as an escapee in your neighborhood.

I don't know exactly where (what city) you found these in, but they may be little black ants. Not sure, though.

That beautiful dove(pigeon) is most likely from a wedding party, and had been released, but got turned around. This is more common than you would think. I'd try looking up companies that release doves for weddings.

I love these guys so much, I have a picture of them on my bedroom door. Yeah, a bit dorky, I know. But get these mushrooms while they're young, and they're tasty as well as cool looking.

Absolutely marvelous! I've never seen anything like it, in books or otherwise.

Just saw your location. Michael Kuo of MushroomExpert.com really knows his stuff. Maybe email him and ask.