the day we put the fun in fungi

 I still have some more photos from our trip up to Greer Arizona that have taken me awhile to upload to my computer. Too many different devices to take photos on these days and although it should be simple, sometimes we make it a little more time consuming than it needs to be. In this particular case, all of these photos were taken with Chuck's phone, which had to be emailed to me and downloaded and yada, yada, yada. I mentioned how much rain had been going on in that area and from a few weather reports, still seems to be the case. This day, a light shower and occasional downpour was keeping us from deciding what to do with our day. We poked around town and had lunch and then just decided to put on our rain jackets and hats and  head out for a hike. We would only get wet and it was warm enough that we wouldn't be chilly. So, off we went. We found a trail that wasn't too far away and looking at the map decided on which route we would take. I opted to leave my camera in the car because, I didn't want it to get wet. Big mistake!! I lamented over that decision as soon as we got far enough away that we didn't want to go back for it.

This big tree...what caused it to tumble over? The roots were huge and it left quite a watering hole for the local wildlife. There were tracks around it so we knew they had been there. Now, you can see how much rain had been falling to keep that hole filled. We did see a small herd of elk , lots of squirrels and all kinds of birds, including some beautiful blue birds!

And as we got further and further into the woods we spotted a mushroom. Or two. Look closely and you will see two little bitty brown ones below the gold one. We discussed the fact that the rain had brought about the mushrooms and wondered how often they grew in these woods. This is about the time, as the rain had stopped that I really wished I had my camera. I didn't even have my phone, fortunately Chuck had his...

 because, everywhere we looked and every step we took it was one more interesting mushroom after another. Growing on tree stumps...

                                                  amongst the pine needles (two different varieties together)!

                            Each one different than the one before.

                Most were very easy to spot and then there were some that were tucked in little hidey holes.

                     We were laughing at ourselves about how funny we were saying things like:
"Look at this one! Quick over here! Get a picture of that one! Oh my gosh...you won't believe this one! Get over here quick! Look at all of these!"  and so it went for several hours as we made our way through the forest of trees.

We couldn't get over the different varieties and wondered about how many were edible and how many were poisonous. We had small clues to the edible ones as we found some that had little chew marks.

Chuck's Uncle and Grandfather were both mushroom pickers. Evidently, they both knew the varieties quite well. Chuck wished he knew a little more about them himself so he could identify them. I, not being a mushroom eating lover, know nothing about them at all. Except that I have a real aversion to their taste. So, I didn't have any remorse about not knowing which of these little fungi might find its way into my pocket for a late dinner treat.

I did find it so fascinating and quite exciting though that we stumbled upon these little photo-posing specimens. To make it all the more special, we were the only people out there. We had the whole forest to ourselves. Later, we discovered that this area is a snow shoe route, which is why there were no paths to speak of. In fact, on the hike out we were just following small blue markings on tress. I felt like a real adventurer!

"Look at these...growing out of the crack in a fallen tree!"

I took a real lichen to these little tiny ones. See the cluster of three in the center and then a few more at the bottom? How cute are they?

Everywhere we looked, one fungi after another. These looked a bit like Kettle Chips.

                   Emerging right up through the pine needles. So pretty don't you think?

 I like this photo with the rock and the lichen and the mushrooms and the new fern all nestled together.

It was nature at its best!

The color of this one was just amazing! With the overcast light, its brightness really stood out against the dry pine needles.

Little yellow flowers, lush green leaves, dark brown mushrooms and of course the texture of the twig make that yellow and orange mushroom just sing!

                                         Who knew mushrooms were so pretty?

                 This made me think we were like Hansel and Gretel following the trail of bread
                                                  crumbs through the woods!

 Although a mushroom itself seems somewhat delicate and the surface is so soft and easily marred, it is amazing how they can push themselves up through the ground and emerge so gracefully.

 Well, I guess this one didn't have as much luck.

These were like little saucers. I could imagine the little forest fairies gathered around these washing their faces in the water that might have collected from the rain.

Admit it...you can imagine that too!! Perfect little basins!

These were just unusually shaped compared to most of the mushrooms we saw.

This one reminded me of the quintessential mushroom. You know the one in all the children's books that has a red top with white dots on it. Don't you just picture a little gnome sitting under it?

We enjoyed this hike, which was about four hours because it became more of a nature walk than a real hike, but it was so enjoyable. I think it ended up being the highlight of our time at the little cabin in the woods.

We didn't mind getting sprinkled on just a bit; the walk, the water river and also the surprise boulder river we discovered along with some wildflowers, pinecones, pine needles, old sun bleached animal vertebrae, elk prints, elk, squirrels, rabbits, birds, tall trees, fallen trees and mushrooms, mushrooms, and more mushrooms made it a fantastic outing.

All in all, it was a very funday, but I can tell you... we left all the mushrooms where they were. 

For me...Chuck is the only funguy I need in my life!!