My sons and I went on a hike up our mountain today - just to have lunch and see what we could see. (Think of the song, "The Bear Went Over The Mountain" and you'll get the idea of how much planning went into this - none.) We saw toads galore, and had hot dogs roasted over a fire. This made the hot dogs, the BEST EVER, according to my youngest - since they were cooked and smoked at the same time!
We saw a bunch of toads, and several newts - which we did not touch due to the bug repellent we were wearing. We meandered. We looked at different paths we did not usually take. We found an owl feather, and what I suspect is a turkey feather, but my son swears is a feather from a falcon.
We saw LOTS of fungi making me wish, once again, I had a degree in mycology. I took photos of some of the fungi we spotted. I am always stunned at how beautiful some of them are! If you know what they are - please feel free to comment. I would like to know what is safe/poisonous to touch or eat. If anyone knows of a class being offered in mushroom and fungus identification, please let me know. Thanks.
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| These are fungi |
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| very delicate, very beautiful |
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| A gorgeous grouping - wish I knew what it was |
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| The just poked up through the leaf mould |
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| Many specimens had been nibbled on |
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| the feasting gave us lovely, textural views |
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| The probable culprit for the gnawed fungi |
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| This is a gentle cup shape |
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| one of my favorites - so elegant |
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| these are a knobby dark brown - they look grayer in the photo |
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| This is pretty small - the bright colour kept it from being trod upon. |
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| one of the many coral-like fungi we saw |
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| Another coral type |
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| What ever ate this loved it so much it chewed a little heart right down the center! |
