When I last walked in the Orphaned Woods, I had to push my way through the small path I mowed early in the spring just to get to the Gulley Bridge. Beyond that my feet sunk in the mud from the overflowing stream. The grasses were taller than my five foot two and I parted them like a tunnel of wet stringy curtains as I walked.
A wild raspberry bush guarded the break in the stone wall. The berries already eaten by birds, their prickly stems grabbing my leggings. The thorns hanging on even when I left the rest of the plant behind. I walked the overgrown path and was swarmed with mosquitos. On the way back, I must have disturbed a nest, because a single yellow jacket followed me out of the woods, stinging me twice behind my knee.
So today I decided to walk on the path that belongs to my neighbor. This way I could avoid most of the insects and all the tall grasses.
And what a peaceful walk it was. Not as many mushrooms as in the past, but a few that caught my eye…
This one reminded me of a scallop shell.
The top of this mushroom was like a cross-section of a tree trunk. The growth rings in so many shades of brown and a little green plant sprouting through it.
This mushroom had the most unusual texture.
And this mushroom seemed to sing.
oh so wonderful your mushroom photos. I can’t be roaming outdoors because of project deadlines so my spirit is being fed by them. Think the second one, brown with white edges, the scallop shell, is a reishi, a medicinal king once you are sure of the ID.
Ah that’s impressive Sharon. I was thinking of the piece you sent me about poisonous mushrooms and how so many of them look similar to edible ones. Kind of like how some weeds look like the plants that grow bigger flowers that we humans tend to like.
I believe the second one is called turkey tail fungus. I have one on my shelf of treasures I collect on walks. I love it’s delicate beauty and it’s fun to draw. To get all those layers in pencil in monogramatic shades.
I can see why it’s called that, now that you mention it, it does have the coloring of turkey feathers. And I can see the fun in drawing it too!