After a long, long wait

A few of us had a lovely day yesterday, botanizing the property that belongs to Rod Handfield, near Millarville (south of Calgary). We had been there several times before over the last two or three years, and we have always been lucky with the fungi we have found. Not sure if fungi season is just late in arriving this year or maybe it just isn't going to be a good fungi season (August is supposed to be the peak of the season), but we were happy to find that there was a reasonable number of species of fungi yesterday. This is just a tiny mushroom - one of my favourite kinds to photograph : )

Answering Jim's (Meremail) query - what is "botanizing"? Well, a very small group (anything from say three to six of us) goes out to various locations and we search for all species of plants, but also birds, fungi, insects, wildlife, lichens, etc.. The leader (naturalist) of the group records everything on a long list. We each receive a copy and also, if we do this on private land such as a ranch or a Nature Conservancy of Canada location, a copy of this very detailed list is sent to the owner of the land that we have botanized. It's always a win-win situation, as the owner gets a much better idea of just what is growing on his land - and we, of course, have wonderful opportunities to explore new or familiar places, that we would otherwise never get to see. We do the same within the city, too. We have been doing this for several years now. Done on a volunteer basis, including the leader. Sometimes, it is important that landowners know such things as what rare plants are growing, in case a new road or bridge is planned through part of the land. Thanks for the good question, Jim : )

And remember - never, ever eat any kind of mushroom unless you are an expert in mushrooms, or the following - or even worse! - could happen to you! This short Klaymen (animation) video from YouTube was posted by Raptorman2 just now on the Hornby Eagles webchat, lol.

youtu.be/y13Ffjqwamk