Tag: mushrooms

Fall Photos, Not What You’d Expect

Like most people, I look forward to Fall with it’s gorgeous array of color, but this year things were different. At first I thought it was just that I lived in a new place, but I heard others complaining about the lack of reds and brightness that we usually see here in New England. Fall got off to a slow start and then suddenly it seemed to pop. And then just as suddenly it was gone – of course then there was the storm which not only removed leaves, but whole trees in that one unfortunate section of the northeast. They are still cleaning up from it. We got close to 2 feet of snow and were lucky in comparison.
Also, I was a bit distracted by all the home repairs going on, so this Fall was a bust. Maybe I’ll be around next year, and the colors will return. If so, I’ll plan to get some good photos.
So I’m sharing my Fall photos, but they don’t contain the lovely color of previous years.


Signs of Fall at my place include bright yellow mums (now dead after being buried by a freak snow storm), stacks of wood and mushrooms.

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Little Orange Mushrooms

mushrooms
A Cluster of Orange Mushrooms

I don’t know what kind of mushroom these are, but I came across them as I was hiking the woods around my place. Unless you pay close attention when walking in the woods, you will miss these little bunches of fungi.
One thing I’ve learned from reading about mushrooms is that they will change their look quite quickly – some of them. They may only last a few days or they can last into winter and beyond. Some are delicate and easily broken or mashed and others are as hard as a rock (almost).
As I photograph the mushrooms I see in my area, I look them up in my books for identifying and find that I seldom can discover what they are.
My Audubon “Field Guide to New England” only lists a few mushroom types and warns that at least 10 of the mushroom species in New England are deadly poisonous to eat so making a mistake in choosing can cost you your life. I will only be photographing and not picking to eat.

Year-Round Camping in Florida; Enjoying Nature While I Knit

The peaceful days of camping in the wilderness go perfectly with knitting. What could be better than having coffee outside, with knitting on my lap? We camped twice in the last month and here is a look at the knitting projects I took along.

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Finding Fall Mushrooms

I bought a great mushroom book. It’s written by David L. Spahr and has awesome photos, descriptions and information concerning “Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms of New England and Eastern Canada”.

Even though his photos are great and his explanations of what to look for almost convince me I could find these for my dinner, he warns that many mushrooms have look-a-likes that can be poisonous and I think I have found some of those poisonous ones in my yard.

But all I want to do is identify the ones I see around here, so the book is very helpful. I only buy mushrooms from the grocery store and they have recently begun to offer some new varieties like the Shiitake, Crimini and Black Trumpet which I am planning to try.

mushroom on a tree
Some sort of mushroom

I don’t know what the one in the picture above is. It looks a bit like a deformed “Chicken of the Woods” but I don’t know.

white mushrooms
Little White Mushrooms

I think that the ones pictured here are Coprinus atramentarius. The author talks about the “Shaggy Mane” mushroom and has a photo of others that look similar and I think those are like mine. He says that within a day or 2 they will be “black, inky goop”, so I’ll have to go back out into the woods to see if that’s what happened.

Pattern Review: Beginning the Magnolia Chunky Cardigan

I’m knitting a beautiful cardigan pattern by Camilla Vad. The Magnolia Chunky Cardigan is knit top-down with lace and bobbles on the body and sleeves. On this page I cover some issues I had in the beginning.

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The Artist’s Conk Mushroom

I recently purchased a good mushroom book and found out that this set of mushrooms I had found last Fall is called the “Artist’s Conk” (Ganoderma applanatum).

I almost spelled it “conch” since I am so used to doing seashell research on the conch (pronounced the same as conk).

It can be etched or painted and will stand up on a table for display. Sounds interesting, but they are very much attached to the trees they grow on and very difficult to remove. I half tried to do so without luck. I guess I need a knife. Or better yet, just take a photo!

See more photos and a picture of a carved drawing at Mushroom-Collecting.com

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The Artist's Conch