Mount Douglas Park 4

Here's another kind of mushroom I encountered on my recent visit to Mount Douglas Park. These ones appear to be a favorite meal for slugs.

Mount Douglas Park 3

Well, forest trails and autumn leaves are fine but what I really went out to Mount Douglas Park for was to see if any mushrooms were up yet. Above is the first one I saw. We've had a couple of days of rain lately so I expect that next time I'm out in the forest I'll see a good selection of these autumn delights.

September AND October Choices!

As I wrote last week, "Every year I put together a calendar for friends and family, of photos I have published on this blog for the last year or so. However, it's always difficult to make decisions about which photos to use. I am hoping visitors to this blog will help out. Every day for the next few weeks I will publish three or four photos from a given month and hope that comments and choices made by visitors will help me make a final decision which photos to use in this year's calendar. As an incentive, I will offer an online downloadable/printable file of the calendar to anyone who helps me make a choice."

Thanks to everyone who has given me their opinions so far, and it really helps when you give reasons for your preference.

Below are my favorite September AND October photos, some from 2016 and some from 2015. The printing deadline is closer than I thought so I am speeding up the pace. There are four to choose from today. Two of these photos are of local wildlife. The other two are unorthodox. Which TWO of these do you prefer?

Mushrooms

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Saxe Point Park

Autumn Leaves

Mushrooms Again

Here's the last of the mushrooms I collected on my visit to the forest at Royal Road University.

Mount Douglas Mushrooms

Populations

Although mushrooming in the forest is generally very peaceful, there are surprises. I was despairing yesterday of seeing any really large mushrooms when I suddenly spotted the one pictured above. It was all by itself and I have never seen another like it. Whereas, when I stumbled on those pictured below it was like discovering a small city. Their camouflage coloring matches the ground cover so perfectly I nearly stepped right in the middle of them before I realized what they were.

Fungi

I'm just back from Mount Douglas Park and here's some of the mushrooms I encountered. The season is well underway now and I counted about 10 different kinds in a short walk.

Buy Mushrooms in the Store

Here are more BIG mushrooms from the forest on the Royal Road University grounds. If you're not a mushroom fancier you will not find much of interest on this blog at this time of year. For me, mushrooms are not FOOD, they are much more akin to the glorious wildflowers of spring. I really do wish that people would stop "harvesting" them or simply "vandalizing" them. People who would never dream of cutting down a tree in a public park seem to think nothing of collecting a cluster of mushrooms in the same place. Support your local mushroom farmer - buy your mushrooms in the supermarket and leave the wild ones alone so that everyone can enjoy their beauty and variety.

Jack O'Lanterns?

These mushrooms were so big and prominent that I have been attempting to identify them. At first I thought they might be Jack O'Lanterns (Omphalotus olivascens), but a couple of these show quite a distinct ring around the stalk which is not characteristic of the species so now I'm stumped. Any mycophiles out there please feel free to offer suggestions.

Fluted Black Elfin Saddles

Yesterday I visited the forest out by Royal Roads University again and was pleased to find these unusual mushrooms called Fluted Black Elfin Saddles (Helvella lacunosa). The charming name describes the way the caps of this mushroom are sometimes saddle shaped. "Fluted" refers to the stalk. I like the way they look but some creature likes the way the caps taste. In many places I found only the stalk remaining while the cap had been neatly snipped (or bitten) off. I suspect deer like these mushrooms too.

Killarney Lake Mushrooms 2

Here are more mushrooms from our Killarney Lake excursion last week.

Little Brown Mushrooms

Mushroom season has just begun but before I get too far afield with the exotic varieties, here's a photo of the common folk, the little brown mushrooms that are all over the place at this time of year. There are probably many species, all looking pretty much the same except to experts. But I like them, standing up so bravely despite their minute size and the surrounding forest full of giant trees. These were photographed in Mount Douglas Park, which is due for a revisit - at this time of year mushrooms pop out of the ground overnight.

M-M-M-Mushroom Season

Fern and I spent the afternoon exploring part of Mount Work Regional Park, specifically the area around Killarney Lake. Mushroom season has definitely begun!

Mushrooms 2

During mushroom season in the fall a casual walk in Mount Douglas Park will usually yield a dozen different kinds of mushroom. Yesterday I only saw two - above is the second kind - these distinguished gray fungi I nearly missed in the forest floor leaf litter.

Mushrooms!

I went out to Mount Douglas Park today to take a specific photo down on the beach. Afterwards I decided to check some of the best mushroom spots to see if our recent rains have brought any to the surface. It's a bit early for them but I was pleased to see these little orange ones. I love mushroom season. They are so photogenic.

Mushroom Bouquet

Here's another from our recent mushrooming trip to Mount Douglas. I like these bright warm colors now when the skies are so often gray.

Mushrooming Part 2

Benjamin and I were discussing our recent outing to Mount Doug Park and how it is that we can go out together to the same place with very similar equipment and yet our photos are very, very different. It's an interesting meditation on the creative process. He would say this for more eloquently as well. I enjoy his perspective as much as my own so I feel it's a win-win situation. Happy Birthday Dad, thanks for taking me out on so many great adventures. xo Fern

Fungi Friday

Here's another couple of this year's mushrooms from Mount Douglas Park. It's been cool and rainy for the last couple of days and I'm looking forward to my next mushrooming excursion.

Second Spring 3

A little further along the trail I was surpised to see such a vigorous clump as this so early in the season. We had a bumper year for mushrooms two years ago - maybe this year too.

Second Spring 2

While it's a bit early for mushroom season here I had good luck wandering around in Mount Douglas Park yesterday afternoon. Here's one of the biggest ones I saw, this one about four inches across the cap.