Risks

Just a note on the sometimes treacherous hobby of photography.  The photo above, for instance, cost me a large blister about the size of a half-dollar (remember those?!) on my ankle, the result, most likely, of  an insect bite. Oh, the risks we sometimes take for our art! :-)

 

 

 

Meripilus Giganteus?

I'm awful at correctly identifing various species of mushrooms. That said, my field guide strongly suggests 

that these mushrooms I found in Forest Park are indeed Meripilus Giganteus, more commonly 

known as Black-staining Polypore. It depends on which you trust more as a source, the National Audubon Society or Wikipedia. :-)

Nibbles?

Trail Ornaments

High Knob Tower Trail

George Washington National Forest

Polypore

 

Robert Frost Trail

Mount Toby Recreation Area

Ghosts

 

Taskinas Creek Trail, York River State Park

Lost World

 

Taskinas Creek Trail, York River State Park

Taskinas Creek Trail

Shaggy-stalked Lepiota

 

 

I can never be certain about mushrooms. They're just such a dizzying variety that any identification I make is, at best, a wild guess. And, anyway, my interest in them isn't so much scientific as artistic. I just think they're fascinating to look at and fun to photograph. There also seem to be a lot of them around this month.

 

Eastern Cauliflower

 

"Sparassis (also known as cauliflower mushroom) is a genus of parasitic and saprobic mushroom characterised by its unique shape and appearance and is found around the globe. Its appearance can be described as similar to a sea sponge, a brain or a head of cauliflower, hence its popular name." -- Wikipedia

Mushrooms!

 

 

It has not been too long since I last hiked at Greensprings . . .

 

 

so I was quite surprised

 

 

 

to discover such a trove of mushrooms that had popped up since.

 

Trail's End

 

 

Clubmoss above and Golden Trumpet mushrooms below as seen on the Buffam Falls Trail near Pelham, Massachusetts

 

Pine Island Nature Trail