Beauty on a rotting log

I finally got out with friends for an almost three-hour botany walk in the afternoon of 11 August 2015, at Griffith Woods. There were certain "target" plants on the list, including three species of wild Gentian and one species of Orchid (Rattlesnake Plantain). We had success with all four, which made for a successful outing.

So many of the plants are finished already, after blooming two weeks early this year. Whenever I see Asters, I know that the end of our flowering season is coming to an end, which is always depressing. The growing season in Alberta is so very short.

I was happy to notice this small mushroom growing from a rotting log. The cap was something like an inch across. I have seen so few fungi this season, after our hot, dry summer.