Autumn's flora and fauna, and Real Baby

It's been another of those weeks.  Mama's oldest dog Lucy died at the beginning of the month, and after that the rest collapsed like a house of cards.  The last cat, Vladimir went, and then Hulk went, and finally our parvo survivor Molly died.  We loved them all, but Molly was extra special and we're taking her death hard.  Last evening when I went out to bury her I discovered a large patch of mushrooms in my own soon-to-be-former front yard.  These two are growing appropriately where I buried Edgar last November. 

The rest are growing not in a ring, but in a large cluster like so.

I took a couple'a pictures of specimens that attracted my eye, like these...

...and these...

...AND these!

There was a time when my bratty kid self would've kicked these over just for the helluvit.  I was so rotten back then!

Meanwhile, my sister has more time on her hands thanks to a new boss, and she sent us pictures of this spider that lives near her apartment. 

My sister says the spider has glutted herself on cicadas and is thus now the size of a small grape.  In case any of y'all are wondering, that IS a black widow.  See the red on her butt?

Black widows are fairly common in both Fayetteville and Malden, but they're shy and prefer to hide from humans.  Indeed, in all my years of turning over rocks to look at creepy crawlies, I've run into exactly two black widow spiders, and Daddy had to kill one of them because she was where our cats liked to play.  My sister, on the other hand...well, she's not as afraid of spiders as I once was, and she actively hunts for these.  She's found them everywhere she's lived except for Edmonton, Alberta, and she even was roommates with one while living in Vermont.  Alas, the Vermont widow had to go to Spider Heaven, because Sister's cat wouldn't quit pestering it.  That cat is such a dolt.  A loved and pretty dolt, but a dolt.

As for me, I washed my hands and settled in with Geneva, my Real Baby.  She got a new poncho yesterday.  It's still too warm for a coat, but I threw it on her anyway.

The poncho was advertised for Cabbage Patch Kids, but it feels like it's made of real wool and it's (possibly) handmade.  I promptly declared it too good for Beryl June and company, thus why Geneva is wearing it.  Geneva needed a coat anyway.  For the record, she's still wearing Quacky Cords, LOL.  I  like that outfit so much that I've left her in it.

Sigh...okay, I feel better.  I hope all is well with y'all.  I know that for at least one reader spring is just around the corner rather than fall.

Much love,

RagingMoon1987 

More mushrooms, and Rita Cheryl

Y'all know me, if it's unusual, I want to share it.  I shared magic mushrooms two and a half years ago (one of those looked like a satellite dish!), and I found some last summer but forgot to share here.  NOW...now, or actually yesterday, I found these unusual mushrooms on a tree at Elder-Snider Cemetery (this one is west of my hometown about five miles).  They're leathery to the touch and look a little like the wood they're growing from.  This first one is growing straight out of the tree...

...and these two are growing from a subterranean root.

As was the case last summer, Rita Cheryl had to get a closer look.

I think the mushroom would've been strong enuff for her to sit on, but I didn't want to risk it.

By sheer, dumb luck I was able to find the pictures I forgot to share.  These were taken back on September 17th.  Stokelan Drive is divided in front of the high school, and along the division there are trees.  This mushroom was growing out of a large stump.  Note another, older mushroom beside it.

The mushroom was a very large one, about the size of my fist.  Of course Rita Cheryl wanted to get a closer look.  Notice that it was only September 17th, and yet I already had her in her Halloween dress.  She proceeded to wear the dress through the entirety of October.

Tree stumps are wonderful settings for dolly pics, and I had hoped to return to this stump for future images.  Alas, it was not to be; a little over a week later I drove by and saw naught but a bare patch of dirt.  My stump had been pulled up, mushrooms and all.  Sad face.

I'm no mycocologist, so I never identified the white mushroom growing out of the tree stump, nor did I identify the mushrooms I found in 2020.  As for the brown shelf mushroom, online sources suggest that it's a species called Ganoderma applanatum, though I have my doubts because...well, because I don't know Bo Diddley from Bing Crosby about mushrooms!  If I'm right, the mushroom is not edible, but can be used for medicinal purposes.  Hmmm, inedible but medicinal...who'd have thunk?  Either way the presence of those mushrooms do not bode well for the tree.  Fungi tend to like dead stuff, and that suggests to me that at least part of that tree is either sick or already dead even though it has leaves growing.  

St. Patrick's Day post is in the works, so stay tuned!

Beware the Ides of March,
RagingMoon1987

Magic mushrooms?

Somehow I doubt I'd go on a trip if I ate these, except maybe a trip to the bathroom to barf, but when I went to work this morning I found these guys growing by the mailbox. 

Here's a closeup of one of them.  The cap is split into segments that resemble flower petals.

For reference, here's what the button stage looks like.

Pretty wild, eh wot?  Halfway through last month I found several mushrooms in my front yard that were shaped like an inverted patty pan...or a satellite dish, take your pick.

The largest one was even facing south like a satellite dish!

It's not often that I see mushrooms invert themselves that radically without splitting, but that one did.  I had it for about a week before it gave up the ghost.  It was about as big around as a softball.

I should be back on schedule with reviews soon!  Got 'em planned for every Thursday for the next couple'a months if everything goes right.

Hugs,
RagingMoon1987