Mushrooms

These pretty mushrooms are chocolate brown and can be nearly black in color. I hadn't gotten around to taking pictures of them until I saw them covered with frost today! Aren't they amazing?!!! Hey, huge shout out to everyone who's been Fav'ing this picture! I'm so happy you like this frosty image! :) *big hugs all around* Explored on November 22, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

I thought it would be nice to share another angle of this beautiful earthstar. Isn't it interesting how leathery it appears? It is quite tough, actually! They are said to be edible, but nobody in their right might would, as it would be like chewing on a rubber tire! :D From Wiki: Astraeus hygrometricus, commonly known as the hygroscopic earthstar, the barometer earthstar, or the false earthstar, is a species of fungus in the Diplocystaceae family. Young specimens resemble a puffball when young and unopened. In maturity, the mushroom displays the characteristic earthstar shape that is a result of the outer layer of fruit body tissue splitting open in a star-like manner. The false earthstar is an ectomycorrhizal species that grows in association with various trees, especially in sandy soils. A. hygrometricus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and is common in temperate and tropical regions. Its common names refer to the fact that it is hygroscopic (water-absorbing), and can open up its rays to expose the spore sac in response to increased humidity, and close them up again in drier conditions. The rays have an irregularly cracked surface, while the spore case is pale brown and smooth with an irregular slit or tear at the top. The gleba is white initially, but turns brown and powdery when the spores mature. The spores are reddish-brown, roughly spherical with minute warts, measuring 7.5–11 micrometers in diameter.

I found this little beauty growing on a piece of bark, and the only reason I saw it was because there was a big mushroom showing its cap behind the bark. I pulled the bark back, and found this little guy! So cute! :)

2 more pictures and a note above ! :) Yesterday I took the dogs out on a quick walk around the lower forest and as I walked, I looked to see if there were any new mushrooms. Holy cow, yes there were! I found some very large orange ones pushing their way up through leaves and moss and put those on my list for pictures today. This morning I took the dogs with me down to where I found the mushrooms and began excavating them. They were quite large--caps about 4-5" in diameter, and I relaxed and took my time, carefully removing leaves, pine needles and moss. Because they were pretty low to the ground, I decided to carefully move some moss around them so I could take a better picture. As I moved the moss to the side and continued brushing dirt out of the way, I saw something blue in the dirt under the place where the moss had been. "Hmm, I wonder what that is?" I thought to myself as I leaned closer...and closer, and..."NO. NO WAY. BLUE MUSHROOMS!! I FOUND BLUE MUSHROOMS!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" These are some of the most amazing fungus finds yet!!! HOORAY!! Laying in the dirt, growing under the moss, were several small clumps of these blue-green mushrooms. They were covered with dirt and some of them were so impossibly tiny that I had to be very, very careful when attempting to pick them up. I was so excited that I wanted to stop what I was doing and run up to the house with my amazing find so I could take pictures. But I didn't. Instead, I finished clearing my "stage" for the orange mushrooms and took pictures of them. (I'll be sharing that picture in the next couple of days...I showed Steve and his response was, "WOW!!" so hopefully you will all like it too! :D) Once I was pleased with my images of the orange mushrooms, I tucked the moss back around them and finally I carried the blue mushrooms back to the house. I was worried that the heat of my hand would affect them so I rolled them onto a bit of moss I had with me for "stage dressing". I first took pictures without washing them off, in case water would hurt them somehow or make them even dirtier. Looking at the pictures, I had to laugh...flecks of dirt show up like boulders at macro scale...I needed to wash the dirt off! So, I took a spray bottle and gently spritzed each little group. The next set of pictures was possibly more awful because the water made the mushrooms look really gross! YUCK! So, I let some time pass, allowing the water to dry and I tried again. Success! This group, if you can see, is four mushrooms--one of them grew in a folded-over position and is slightly buried in dirt. The tallest pair stand about .5 inches tall, or a bit more than 1 centimeter. What strange looking mushrooms! One of them that I didn't photograph had changed to a more tan color like the cap of the one on the left, and it was a bit larger, about .75" or just under 2 cm. (By the way, I added some light texturing to the background to give this image more depth) I have a friend, Ken Dies who's very experienced with mushrooms, and he explained that these mushrooms are not actually blue or green. They have been attacked by a fungus, which gives them that color! Thanks for the information, Ken! :) Henry Taube, Ph.D, M.Sc, B.Sc, FRSC (November 30, 1915 – November 16, 2005) was a Canadian-born American chemist noted for having been awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "his work in the mechanisms of electron-transfer reactions, especially in metal complexes." He was the first Canadian-born chemist to win the Nobel Prize. Taube completed his undergraduate and Masters degrees at the University of Saskatchewan, and his Ph.D from the University of California, Berkeley. After finishing graduate school, Taube worked at Cornell University, the University of Chicago and Stanford University. Wikipedia: Henry Taube Explored on November 19, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

2 pictures above in notes! :) When I was looking at the different mushrooms, I initially tried to pull this twig away from the pair until I realized that they were growing on it! Then I was happy because I had a handle to hold them with! It is a very stressful experience trying to hold something so tiny with your fingers--it's very hard to have any control! If you can believe it, these two are only about 4-5mm in height! (To understand what that looks like, do you see my picture icon on the right of this image? They are SMALLER than that icon!!) And yet, they are still larger than the "3 Amigos" I photographed a couple of weeks ago (see inset) , but nevertheless, they are very, very, VERY small!! (By the way, I added some light texturing to the background to give this image more depth) By the way, I have a friend, Ken Dies who's very experienced with mushrooms, and he explained that these mushrooms are not actually blue or green. They have been attacked by a fungus, which gives them that color! Thanks for the information, Ken! :)

2 more pictures and a note above ! :) Such a pretty, sunny day it was today! Steve and I hopped in the car to drive around our "block" so I could take pictures off the property. Our "block" is actually about 7 miles around! The road travels up about 1,000 feet in elevation, through many kinds of terrain, and there are some conifer forests there that I've always wanted to investigate. Once we found a good spot, I hopped out of the car while Steve enjoyed himself with some iPad games. Making my way into a pine-needle and leaf-strewn ravine, I immediately encountered mushrooms and different fungus all over the place. I was hoping to take a long look at the whole area but there was no chance of that because everywhere I turned, I would find another mushroom! :D Resisting the urge to take pictures of every mushroom I encountered, I looked for something really special that would be a great image for my Picture of the Day. I looked up the far side of the ravine and saw some large mushrooms pushing their way out of the soil, so I made my way over to them. The first one was decaying and soggy, but I saw something peeking out at me from a bit higher. Carefully pulling away a clump of moss and dirt, I was presented with the beautiful sight that you see here. I took time to remove enough leaves and pine needles so that I could show the pair off, but I kept most of the beautiful moss and dirt that was still on top of them, looking like a green and brown roof. Aren't they magnificent?! :D I feel so fortunate every time I make an extra-special discovery! Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. Wikipedia: Henry Ward Beecher Explored on November 18, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#49).

7 pictures above in notes (1 enlarged version for each collage picture and three other pictures) This kind of find is so exciting to me! I've never seen anything like it before, and though I spent a long time searching online, I couldn't find any pictures of this type (species info below!). In any event, I was delighted to have found this interesting fungus. With globes, each stands only 2-3 mm in height, very small. A HUGE THANK YOU AND HUG to Chrissy for identifying this fungus for me!!!! It's called Cannonball Fungus, or "Sphaerobolus stellatus" and you aren't even going to believe this...like its name says, it HURLS a "cannonball" of spores (see inset image) away from itself to spread its spores!!! Check out this animated gif here to see! Cannonball Fungus in Action! ) Can you say TOTALLY COOL AND AMAZING?!!!!! WOW!!! Here's more information about this cool fungus, and once again, THANK YOU CHRISSY!!! :D Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month for July 2005: Sphaerobolus stellatus, the Cannonball Fungus

1 picture above and a note! :D This is the fungus I found the other day, and you can see why I was totally fascinated. How ODD and pretty these are. They do, however, remind me of opened Alien Face-Hugger eggs! Thanks to Chrissy for finding out what this fungus is, I'm beyond excited to learn how it grows and spreads its spores!

1 image above and many notes to explain what you're looking at! Here you can see a wider view of the rotting log this fungus was growing out of.

3 more pictures above ! :) Ok, yesterday I mentioned some really cool moss sporophytes that I wanted to take pictures of. I never got to them, and planned to take pictures today. Well...I *DID* take pictures of them! But though I spent about 20 minutes taking many different images, in the end, I wasn't happy with any of them. I will have to think about it and try again! However, there was no end to the mushrooms growing all over the place! Totally amazing, there are just so many! I found a really magnificent one and as I was clearing away leaves, I saw something odd below them. One good look and, "OH, WOW!!! CUP FUNGUS!!" The trio, which is about 1/2" tall, was attached to a bit of bark which I was able to lift up and place on a log for pictures. I've never seen cup fungus that looks like a perfect goblet before! And to think, if I hadn't been looking at the leaves and ground that I was clearing away, I would have never seen these beauties! I have done a bit of looking around on the net but haven't found out exactly what kind of cup fungi this is. Let me know if you're clever enough to figure it out! :D Lord Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement. He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential. Wikipedia: Lord Byron

Can you believe my luck at finding this family of mushrooms?! So cute, and I nearly stepped on them!! As I've mentioned, our lower forest is just exploding with mushrooms, so I need to be very careful where I put my feet. The number of interesting mushrooms is off the charts, but choosing to take a picture of these three was a no-brainer! :D

2 more pictures above ! :) Another moist and cloudy day, I had a plan in mind when I left the house and headed to the lower forest. I'd found a new kind of moss "sporophyte" that I wanted to photograph and was looking forward to getting some pictures to share. However, as you can see by the image above, things didn't go according to plan! :D I thought I'd take a look around my favorite mushroom spots on the way to the sporophytes, and well...let's just say that the forest floor is ERUPTING with mushrooms! There are so many of them I honestly had a hard time putting a foot down without smashing at least one! Most are extremely tiny, delicate beauties, others are large, and some are the size of "button" mushrooms we get from the store. I really did try to resist taking pictures! But when I saw this one, I gave up the struggle! :D Although this one is like the one I shared a couple of days ago, it's not the same kind. That one was covered with a glossy layer of slime, but this one was much smaller, about one centimeter in diameter, and dry all over. I hope that you don't mind all of the mushroom pictures! I just love them and they are all so different and unique that I simply can't resist! :) Tomorrow I will attempt to get pictures of those sporophytes like I planned today! Wish me luck! :D Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) better known as G.K. Chesterton, was an English writer, lay theologian, poet, dramatist, journalist, orator, literary and art critic, biographer, and Christian apologist. Chesterton is often referred to as the "prince of paradox." Time magazine, in a review of a biography of Chesterton, observed of his writing style: "Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories—first carefully turning them inside out." Wikipedia: G. K. Chesterton

2 more pictures above ! :) Yesterday it was rainy and drizzly, overcast and foggy, and I wasn't outside for very long. Today I awoke to a glorious sunny day, and I was definitely going to take advantage of the beautiful weather! "Zoe! Moosey! Molly! Atten-HUT! We will now be climbing to the top of the hill and examining every square inch for all things cool and fun!" Up the hill we scrambled and along the ridge we ambled, having a marvelous time for the next hour and a half! The mushrooms are simply exploding out of the ground right now! White, tan, brown and chocolate brown, in many shapes and sizes, and appearing in singles or groups of two or three! This time of year is my arguably my favorite for photography because I am so crazy about mushrooms. They are so unique and interesting to me, though I admit that trying to identify them is a total nightmare. If you remember the trio of mushrooms I shared a few days ago (and the younger version a few days before that), the pair above were growing right next to that log. (By the way, I checked on the trio, and they are shriveled up now and gone...but no worries because my pictures will keep them alive forever! :) The second I discovered these two, I knew I had my Picture of the Day! It's very hard to top a pair of mushrooms that look like they are in love! :) Philip St. John Basil Rathbone, MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born British actor. He rose to prominence in the UK as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers and, occasionally, horror films. Wikipedia: Basil Rathbone Explored on November 15, 2013. Highest placement, page 8.

3 more pictures and a note above ! :) I woke up to the sound of rain pattering on the windows and drumming on the roof and I couldn't help but smile. We aren't having a very wet Fall this year, and with the decreased humidity and moisture, there haven't been many mushrooms so far. Of course I've found plenty, but that's only because I know where to look. Honestly, I should be tripping over them at this point. However, the rain during the night and this morning surely helped move things along, and I was excited to find out what had popped up! As soon as the rain dwindled to a light drizzle, I bounced out of the house without any dogs to worry about, and you'd better believe I had my macro flash with me! :D I went to the lower forest where it's darker and full of moisture, and started looking around...it didn't take long before I found one...two...three...BUNCHES of mushrooms! Large ones like I've photographed recently, and extremely tiny ones, and then, I noticed something flash from under a leaf. Pulling the leaf aside, I found THIS glistening beauty, glowing white and radiant! I was able to position the camera just right, and to my utter happiness, I was able to adjust the exposure of the flash so that this white mushroom wasn't blown out! For me, using a flash has been EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING in the past for light/bright objects because they are so easy to over-expose. But now I'm able to do exposure compensation with confidence and darn if it didn't work just right!! I had time to practice this morning and experimented with the flash, without the flash, and I also used the shutter speed mode (TV) just to test. If I want to make a picture that isn't low-key but still has this dof, I'd need to use a tripod, which I didn't have. In any event, when I got home and looked at my pictures, I was overjoyed by this one!! :D William Henry "Bill" Cosby Jr. (born July 12, 1937) is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at the hungry i in San Francisco and various other clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own sitcom, The Bill Cosby Show. He was one of the major performers on the children's television series The Electric Company during its first two seasons, and created the educational cartoon comedy series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, about a group of young friends growing up in the city. Cosby also acted in a number of films. Wikipedia: Bill Cosby Explored on November 13, 2013. Highest placement, page 4.

1 picture above in a note! :) This is a mushroom I found a couple of weeks ago, isn't it just so stocky and wonderful?!! This is a 2-stack image. (Roll over the image to see a detail shot of the gills! :D)

3 more pictures above ! :) Today I finally decided to bring the macro flash with me on my photo walk up along the ridge. I've been resistant because of the added weight, the fact that it's unwieldy, and my past troubles with proper exposure. However, I realized that I could just put it in a backpack and take it out when I found a suitable subject. And I have learned how to adjust the exposure a lot better. I used to think this macro flash took too long to set up...until I timed myself. It takes less than a minute to put on completely, and that's not even rushing! So I packed it up and off I went with the dogs to the top of the ridge! The weather here is finally perfect for fungus to grow. Humid, wet mornings, raining or foggy on a regular basis, the ground is slowly sucking moisture back into it after the long, dry summer and beginning of autumn. I am starting to find mushrooms more easily, which is so much fun!! With the 365 project I have to stop myself from taking too many pictures, because I simply don't have time to process them all. But I let myself have fun today and found several really wonderful mushroom groups! These mushrooms may look familiar to you, and that's because I featured them 4 days ago! This trio has grown more than twice as large since I saw them last!! I was walking past the log I found them under and wondered if they were still alive. Bending down, I exclaimed in delight, "OH LOOK!!!", because I could see the taller pair peeking their heads out of the crack between the log and the dirt! I rolled the log over to expose them and was just blown away by how cool they looked! With my macro flash attached, I could take a picture with any dof I wanted (within reason, of course...rule of thumb: don't try for a higher f/stop than 22 because the picture will begin to blur), so I used 11, 14, 18, and 20 to compare on my computer. Then I remembered that the bark the mushrooms was on was movable. PERFECT!!! I picked them up and took another set with them held at arm's length. Looking at the pictures on my computer, there were several which were equally good, so I picked one and here it is! :) I have three more pictures today: 1 shows me holding the bark these mushrooms are growing on for scale, 1 shows three impossibly tiny mushrooms, and 1 shows me holding the decayed leaf piece they are on! ENJOY! :D Jonathan Howsmon Davis (born January 18, 1971), also known as JD and JDevil (or J Devil), is an American musician best known as the leading vocalist and frontman for the nu metal band Korn. Hit Parader ranked Davis at number 16 on a list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists" in 2006. Wikipedia: Jonathan Davis

1 picture above in a note! :) It's one thing to mention the size of something. But it's wonderful to see something we know the size of to compare. It is amazing how much these mushrooms have grown since I last took a look at them, more than twice as big!! (I've added the picture I took a few days ago as an inset for you to see)

1 picture above in a note! I am very blessed to have what I call "micro-vision". I can see things extremely close-up and tiny, tiny things are very clear. Unfortunately, I'm also blind as a bat and must wear glasses all the time. To me, having this special vision is very special and wonderful because I am so crazy about macro! Today I was looking under logs and peering about 1-2" from the ground, where I could study everything at a macro scale with my incredible close vision. As I stared, I spotted something and looked again. It took me another 20 seconds to find the spot again, because everything I was looking at was extremely small. THERE! NO WAY...it was just what I thought. 3 itty bitty, tiny little mushrooms, just beginning to sprout!! They were sitting on a corner of a decayed leaf, so small that you could barely see the piece of leaf, let alone the trio of mushrooms! WHAT A PRIZE!!!! I went to pick the piece of leaf up and knocked a leaf on top of them...and it took me another few minutes to find them under the leaf! Just as I was about to give up, I tried another leaf piece and THERE THEY WERE! Carefully I picked the leaf fragment up and set it on top of a piece of bark. I got several pictures and then it dawned on me: nobody would be able to understand how tiny these cutie pies were unless I showed one of my fingers next to them! So I held them up and we all said cheese together as I took the picture! :D You'll see that as an inset above or just click to the next picture! :)