Little Fall Mushroom

I was really delighted to run into this cute little Fall mushroom on our walk this morning. Will this be the last one I see this year? It won't be the last one I post as I still have several summer mushrooms waiting to make their debut.

Parasol Mushrooms

These mushrooms remind me of a group of people out on a hot day under their parasols (similar to an umbrella, but with a bit more panache) taking a bit of a stroll.

Typical Mushroom

This one kind of looks like what you'd think most mushrooms would look like--small, white, mushroomy in shape. I like that I caught the dew in the grass and the sharp edges of the mushroom. This one kind of looks like I intruded on a private moment as well, like I was stalking it through the grasses. Well, yes, I was.

Shy Mushroom

This mushroom is a little shy. She's trying to hide behind the grass, but I saw her and took her picture!

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days (for those of you who just can't get started with your day without a post from me). I had my family in town this weekend and we had a great time together. However with the cleaning before, the fun and food during, and more cleaning after, I'm just getting back to my postings. On the plus side my house is clean. On the minus side we have had five days of over 100 degree weather with high humidity. A storm system is trying to pass through here today which has given us a lot of cloud cover. It has lowered the temp a few degrees, but with the storm not actually breaking through the high pressure system overhead, it still leaves us with a hot, sticky heat which means we can't go outside and sit and enjoy it. Sit and sweat, yes; enjoy, no. I hope wherever you are that you are staying cool and hydrated! I'm sticking close to the air-conditioning.

Button Flowers and Mad Science Mushrooms

These are the gorgeous silver and black mushrooms. The top picture reminds me of cute button flowers and the bottom two pictures look like mad science mushrooms (you know, where the electricity is jumping up off whatever they have it jumping off of in mad science). So cute and fun!

Simplicity of a Mushroom

Here it is. Just a mushroom in all its simplicity which makes it so beautiful. I think I'm nearing the end of my mushroom pictures for a little while (still have a few more to get around to posting) unless it rains again this weekend. We've been in a heat wave and I think the ground also has to be moist which then makes it optimal for mushrooms. Plus, they keep letting the grass grow up to ten inches before they cut it which makes seeing the mushrooms hard. Then when they do cut it, there goes the mushrooms, too. So now that it is cut and with the tiny chance of rain this weekend, maybe I'll start seeing more mushrooms. I hope so as the thought of that being all the mushrooms I see this summer makes me a little sad.

Mushroom Flower with Chocolate Shavings on top

This mushroom flower looks like it has chocolate shavings on top (reminds me of the chocolate shavings one puts on top of chocolate delight to add that little extra something special).

Wooden Mushroom Flowers

These mushrooms remind me of beautifully carved wooden mushroom flowers! You know how people make roses out of wood shavings and sell them? These kind of looked carved out of wood like that and planted here in a wood chip pile to have their picture taken. So gorgeous!

Paratrooper Mushrooms

These mushrooms remind me of little tiny paratroopers who have jumped out of an airplane and landed on the grass. (This would be right as they hit the ground, before their chutes go limp because they aren't catching the air anymore.) I wonder what their mission is....

Elegant Silver and Black Mushrooms

These mushrooms are so elegant and classy. The gorgeous silver and black makes them look like they are ready to go to a black tie event (perhaps as a boutonnier or on a lovely wrist corsage?). These were really quite breathtaking, especially with the way the dew was sparkling on them and the morning light was highlighting them

Lone mushroom overlooking the river

Here he is, just the one lone mushroom overlooking the river. Maybe he just needed some space or simply prefers the view from the top. At any rate, it truly was just this one lone mushroom with the great view.

More beautiful mushrooms

Because June was filled with thunderstorms and very humid, moist air, we have been treated to more beautiful mushrooms. These are delicate and beautiful, almost like flowers, but just not quite there.

Who doesn't love a good heartish shaped mushroom? Maybe this one would make a good photo for a Valentine's card. I could tint the mushroom red and say something like "I'm mushy over you" or "You turn my heart to mush." I'm kind of teasing, but it really could work.

Mushroom Pancake

The mushrooms are really out full force this summer! It has been hot and humid and we've had lots of thunderstorms coming through. It probably makes the perfect weather for mushrooms. You'd think we'd just have one basic kind, but the sheer variety of our mushrooms is stunning (as I'll show you in the weeks to come).

This one looks like a large white pancake. Mushroom pancake, anyone?

Oyster Looking Mushrooms

These mushrooms kind of remind me of oyster shells. There is something so beautiful in their shape and texture. I especially like the ones in the bottom picture as they look like flowers!

Much to our delight....Mushrooms!

Well whadya know, the mushrooms are back! With all the tearing out of trees, ripping up the earth to make new paths, and generally being a nuisance to us and nature (for keeping us from our path for a year and nature for uprooting and disturbing the area), nature has prevailed!

On our walk near the beginning of the month, Brownie took me off the beaten path (as we both like exploring AND traipsing off the beaten path) and I was following her. I glanced down and gasped. There, much to my delight, were the first mushrooms I've seen in over a year. Look how cute they are (huddled close to the tree for protection). Beauty, thy name is mushroom.

Mushroom Triad

They're back! Just when you think there couldn't possibly be any more mushrooms, we rounded a corner on our walk this morning and I gasped to see the mushrooms sprouting. I guess with the deceptively nice weather, lots of things had starting growing including this mushroom triad. In my mind, the ones above (both pictures in the middle) alternate between looking like little rolls of dough rising and marshmellows. Very surprising, but oh so interesting!

Mushroom Invasion

Just when you think there couldn't possibly be any more mushrooms, here comes the mushroom invasion! These are the last mushrooms I saw this year, also at the end of October. Quite freakishly amazing! (If you stare at them long enough they seem to be moving, hence the invasion.)

German Pancake looking Mushrooms

These German Pancake looking mushrooms are very similar to the hot cross bun looking mushrooms, only bigger and flatter. I have to say that these and the hot cross bun ones are quite beautiful! I should have shown you these instead of the tree fungus mushroom thing, but when would it ever be a good time for that?

Large mushroomy tree fungus thing

Well, I'm sorry to do this to you but I'm on our other computer and when I pulled the pictures over here, they all mixed together so the only one I was sure I haven't posted yet is this large mushroomy tree fungus thing. They were pretty much all over around the base of this tree. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it's hard to look away. I wanted to give you something pretty, but here you go. You get interesting/grotesque instead, under the larger umbrella of "mushrooms."

Dried apricot mushrooms

These mushrooms really resemble the pancake looking mushrooms, but we actually ran across these on a different day and in a different place. I'm sure they are the same type of mushroom as the pancake ones, but these look more like dried apricots, especially the smaller ones toward the bottom in this second picture.