Happy New Year!

Yesterday was a lovely, warm, sunny day. 

The kids, the dog, and I had a wonderful time playing in the woods. 

 The kids and the dog played in the creek.

 

Anything that gets Copper in the water is a fun game for him.

He even likes to retrieve rocks. Silly dog.

I found mushrooms to photograph. 

 

 I strongly suspect these are Deadly Galerina 

(Galerina marginata, previously known as "Galerina autumnalis").

 According to the Wiki article, Galerina means helmet-like.

I think they are pretty little things, even if they are quite poisonous.

Nothing makes me smile in the winter quite like the 

greens of mosses and lichens.

I even found some oyster mushrooms which didn't photograph well, but tasted pretty darn good.

Yesterday was a lovely finish to a good year.

Today, on the other hand is cold, windy, and gray. 

It's not my favorite kind of day.

But we are a day closer to spring!

-Shakerag Susan

I'm still alive!

I know it has been a while since I posted. I have no idea what I have been doing to prevent me from blogging. Apparently, I have been out of the habit. No matter. Here I am and with new pictures, too. 

Okay, I admit it, this is the same old subject matter- mushrooms.

Oyster mushrooms, specifically. They have been so abundant lately that I can't look out a window or 

walk to the car without seeing some.

I think the babies are particularly photogenic.

These were absolutely teeny-tiny.

I really like the ones that grow on the bottom of logs, too.

Do you know what I don't like about oyster mushrooms? 

The taste. 

I really, really want to like them, but I don't.

Maybe I am just cooking them wrong. I'll try them again soon, but as beautiful and easy to identify and abundant as they are, I SHOULD love them, but I don't.

Does anyone have any cooking tips for oyster mushrooms?

As I have said before, don't eat any mushroom you are even slightly unsure of. 

Safety first, people.

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving (or good Thursday for those outside the U.S.).

-Susan

Oyster Mushrooms

Lately, the weather has been really dry. We had one day of rain in the last couple of weeks, but it's still mighty dry. So there have been very few mushrooms to find when I have made my trips into the woods.

But there have been oysters. Lots of oysters.

 Pleurotus ostreatus is the Latin name for these lovely mushrooms.

They are all over this poplar log.

The "babies" are simply adorable.

To me, at least.

After noticing all the mushrooms springing forth from this log, I brought a jug of water for them. 

The creek the log is over is completely dry.

Oysters are supposed to be really tasty mushrooms, but after Hen-of-the-Woods, I wasn't impressed.

I'll try them again another time.

I know this is an obvious warning, but 

DO NOT EAT ANY WILD MUSHROOM THAT YOU ARE NOT 100% SURE WHAT IT IS!

Stop by Lisa's Chaos to see what other macros this Monday brings. 

As always, click on any photos for an enlargement.

-Susan

Glimpse into the World of Fairies

Okay, I didn't actually see any fairies, but I'm pretty sure they had been there.

Enjoy your weekend!

-Susan

Grifola frondosa

Lately, I have been keeping a close watch on some lovely oyster mushrooms next to my driveway. I have even been watering them. This morning, I wandered outside, coffee in hand, to see how the oysters were coming along.

And then I spied it.

A small, fresh Hen of the Woods mushroom!

Can you see it?

These lovely mushrooms are also known as Maitake or Sheep's Head or (my favorite) 

the Dancing Mushroom.

But the Latin name is Grifola frondosa.

Can you see it now?

I just about fell off the log on which I was standing!

I've bought Hens at an Asian grocery in a nearby city and even at a large Whole Foods-type grocery.

They are DE-lish-us! And expensive. Like $30 per pound expensive.

But today, I found a 31 ounce Hen BY MY DRIVEWAY.

I'm still kind of in shock.

The best part is that they are perennial. So it will probably show up by this particular oak next year and the year after and so on.

Oh, and the other best part is that Dancing Mushrooms are used medicinally as well.

According to AmericanMushrooms.com,
Grifola frondosa is,

"One of the most medicinally active of all common wild mushrooms, Maitake has well-demonstrated immuno-boosting and anti-microbial (anti-bacterial and anti-viral) properties, as well as anti-tumor activity against breast, colorectal, liver, lung and prostate cancers, and leukemia. As if that weren't enough, it also shows considerable potential as an antihypertensive, as a blood-sugar moderator, and as a cholesterol reducer. Additionally, it is reputed as being beneficial for the lungs and respiratory system, as a stress reducer, and even as an anti-Candidiasis (yeast infection) agent."

Other sites mention its use against HIV. 

How cool is that?

Thankfully, I'm not currently dealing with serious health issues, but my common cold seems virtually gone now. I don't know if it is the anti-viral properties of the mushroom or 

that I am still absolutely giddy about finding it!

Either way, I now know why they call it the Dancing Mushroom.

I could dance all day after finding it!

Hope you all are having as wonderful weekend as I am!

-Susan

Critter of the Day

Today's Critter of the Day is an immature male Magnolia Warbler.

This adorable little guy collided with my living room window earlier this week.

At first, I didn't know what he was- except that he was a warbler. He definitely has an insect-eating beak.

They don't call them confusing fall warblers for nothing. My mom, expert birder that she is, thought he was a Magnolia Warbler despite him not looking quite like the book.

After a bit of searching online, I found a photo of a first year male.

It looked just like him!

Aren't the feathers on his back pretty?

After a few minutes resting in a cardboard box, he became restless. He flew almost as soon as I opened the box, but wasn't quite ready to fly into the woods. He posed for a few moments while he regained his bearings. I'm glad he did. I only wish the sun hadn't be so close to setting.

The light sure could have been better.

You can tell he is feeling better now.

This was my last glimpse before he flew away.

As always, you can click on any of the photos for a closer look.

Don't forget to
stop by

blogging from bolivia
to link up your own Macro Friday post!

-Susan

                                                                  

More Mushroomy Macros

It has been quite dry of late and, unfortunately, that means not many mushrooms about. I do understand that not all of my readers are fungi-philes, but I am. Ticks are the other problem I have had lately. It is impossible to go out into the woods without bringing in passengers. But we had some rain yesterday, and the days are shorter so the ticks are less of a problem. I'm looking forward to a wonderful autumn!

This particular mushroom I photographed a while ago at Land Between the Lakes.

It was growing right in the road.

At first I thought it was a rusty piece of metal.

Then I thought it was a puffball.

It is neither.

I strongly suspect it is a Pisolithus tinctorius, also known as

the dyemaker's puffball.

It is not a true puffball, merely a mushroom with a thin outer "skin" that disintegrates upon maturity.

When immature it can be used to dye wool.

Once I got home and looked it up I wished I had taken more pictures of it or even collected it.

Maybe I'll find one again sometime.

Have a super weekend!

Don't forget to
stop by

blogging from bolivia
to link up your own Macro Friday post!

-Susan