As I was setting up my sugar water feeders, some mushrooms caught my eye. They were forming on a tree that must have died a long time ago. Only part of the trunk remains.
As I approached I made sure no animals were living inside, luckily its the winter so I dont need to worry about insect hives inside.
Seems since the tree died, some other life form as moved in. This case some fungi and moss on the bark. Seems like some kind of wood loving mushroom. Maybe Turkeytail?
Some of the mushrooms looked quite old, having a more brown color to them. I think the white ones were younger growing besides them.
The underside has a spongy appearance, though I did not touch them. Looks like something has been munching on the underside. Maybe slugs or something like that.
Amazing that the tree still has the bark and part of the tree standing but the rest is gone. Hard to say when it fell but looking at how decomposed it is maybe years ago. Maybe way before I was even around this area.
If I can figure out what kind they are, maybe I can return and collect them if useful. They are on private property so shouldnt be an issue getting permission.
Looks like some lichen is growing on the bark as well. So many different things growing on this dead tree trunk
I wonder how old the mushrooms are, seems like the darker ones are quite woody and probably not good for collecting if they are indeed Turkeytails.
The younger ones look viable, with constant rains they get enough water forming on the bark and feeding on the tree they seeem happy.
A close up of the younger mushrooms I see banding on them making me think they are those Turkeytails but hard to say for sure.
I bet other trees around here have these mushrooms growing on them. I need to take a walk once my bees are all setup to see what else is growing around here.
Heres the tree a few feet away to get a better idea of what they are growing on. Its about ten feet tall with whats left standing. Looking at the trunk it must have been quite tall when standing and alive.
Just next to it is another tree on its way out, its bark is flaking off and looks like woodpeckers have been going at it. It appears to be a pine tree but the other I think was something else. Lots of fallen trees in this area, good for mushrooms and insects to get inside and break down the wood. Seems like nothing in the forest ever stops, when something dies it goes to use for the rest of the forest. Must be the balance of nature, all I can do is just watch and learn from it.