Mushrooms, part two

I've been neglecting this poor blog, sigh.  Real life gets in the way from time to time, but I hope to post a little more here than I have been.    That said, last fall I followed and photographed a mushroom as it grew and matured and died, and I thought it was fascinating.   Maybe not for everyone.   I have no idea what kind this was, and probably if I had done some research, I might have been able to find out the name, but I really didn't care.   I just wanted to take its picture, so I did.   I called it Big 'Un, cause it was so big.  Now I wish I'd taken a ruler with me on my walks so you could have seen how big it got. 

Sept. 15, 2011

September 15,2011

September 16, 2011

September 18, 2011

September 20, 2011

September 21, 2011

I think it was over a foot long, by about 8 inches wide.   And it just sat there and shriveled up.  

and here it is, the final picture.

I didn't go for a walk for a few days as I'd had an injury so was not able to take more pictures than this.

Mushrooms, part one

I've become fascinated with the mushrooms popping up this past year.     I'm pretty sure they're not edible, but they are strange and fantastical looking.   So on our morning walks I've been taking pictures and even following a couple along on their life/time line.  

I've been enjoying the fairy like ones with their pale, pale greenish hue and dainty lines, 

 as well as the more robust ones, that pop up from one morning to another, stalwart and strong.  

The puffballs that come up and look so snowy white one day, and turn a pale yellow the next day, then they descend rapidly into darkness.   

And one day, explode, as if someone set off a teeny, tiny bomb within. 

And then there are the ones who impudently push their way up through the roadway from one day to another, looking almost reptilian in nature. 

It amazes me how many different kinds of mushrooms I can see within a very small area of land.    And just how pushy they can be.