While inspecting my garden, I came upon this wasp hiding under a statue head that was on this dead trunk. After it flew to safety, I removed dead wood and put it aside.
Many of these mushrooms were were coming up in our rose beds. They were very large.
They must like the layer of mulch that is also covered by a layer of dead leaves.
I saw this one as well, which is more beautiful I think.
Excited to find more mushrooms, and possibly some edibles ones, I went to the forest.
My first find were these, growing on some rotting wood just off the beaten path. Then I saw a doe approaching me and I wanted her to get close enough for a picture. She came closer and closer, stomping her front hooves but then suddenly pranced away.
After leaving to a more fruitful forest I stumbled onto a patch of these. The first picture shows an immature cluster and the next is a little older.
If anyone remembers a small pin I saw on a thin branch while I was searching for morels (see here: https://steemit.com/morel/@proto26/this-year-s-haul-of-morel-mushrooms-so-far ) here is what it became.
I don't know what they are but they are pretty common.
Have you ever seen jelly fungus? It comes in many colors. I usually find a dark purple variety in my garden, but look at this one:
This next find beats all the others. Do you recognize it?
It is a flush of oyster mushrooms! These are edible! They have a characteristic smell of black licorice. It looks like there will be more in a few days. What can I cook up with these?
I also did a little experiment to see if I could start some mycelium on some cardboard. Hopefully I'm successful.
Last but not least on my mushroom adventure is this autodigesting inky cap.
It doesn't look like a coprinoid but those aren't the only type of mushroom that have developed this adaptation. It was growing by itself in some leaf litter right below a giant nest box (probably made for a duck) where the debris came from.
I hope you enjoyed the many different types of mushrooms we saw today. If you recognize any or have your own photos of some you'd like to share, tell me in the comments section!
Thanks for reading!