An immature Questionable Stropharia, Stropharia ambigua, growing in the backyard. Some say it’s edible, others say it tastes like old leaves, interesting.

Ramaria, another new genus (for me) I found growing under a Douglas-fir.

We accompanied our friends to feed some horses the other day when I noticed the red-tipped lichen on a fence post. I’ve narrowed it down to probably being Cladonia cristatella, also referred to as British soldier lichen.

A neighbor had a tree fall and within days a new colony of mushrooms had invaded.

I’ve been reading Winter World by Bernd Heinrich and I’ve been encouraged to look more closely at my woods. So this weekend I took a path I don’t usually take and surprise! I’ve seen an earthstar before but this one is in better condition.

Amanita muscaria, one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture, especially children’s books – it’s constantly appearing in my daughter’s. I always associate this mushroom with the Smurfs. This is odd, of course, because it’s hallucinogenic – perhaps that explains the Smurfs.

Great skies coming home from the Arboretum last weekend.

Meet my new favorite mushroom: Helvella lacunosa, or the Fluted Black Elvin Saddle. Today was a bumper day for mushrooms – my daughter and I photographed at least five or six new species for the season.