Fungus Amoung Us

The famous naturalist John Muir said that "in every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." Yeah, well I think Dad said the same thing because I learned it well. Observe the little things.

Well this wasn't so little. A gigantic puffball (literal name) in our yard in Biscuit Hollow. I set a softball next to it in the next picture so you could get a size reference. The split had just developed the morning of the picture. We chose to leave it and see how big it grows rather than eat it for supper.

I think this next one is a shelf fungus. I found it last August growing on a big old stump next to a trail. A couple of weeks ago, I found the stump had been tipped out in to the trail by a bear.

This shelf lichen can be found quite often. Remember when Aunt Anna used to harvest them when they were white and draw fantastic pictures on them?