Tag: wild mushrooms

Unconventional Looking Wild Mushrooms

mushroom, fungi
A Strange Growth

This mushroom is growing right outside my door – almost – so I keep checking on it. With my hand next to it you can see the size and there are other blobby growths on this dead Hemlock tree as well, which are the babies I suppose.

mushroom
The Beginning of Another Mushroom

This tree has quite a few of these smaller round mushrooms.

Although these growths are very strange looking, I found the most bizarre mushroom on a walk last year. It was so odd looking – kind of like a brain, that I purposely remembered where it was so I could go back with my camera and get a photo.
See it below. I should go back and check to see if it’s growing there again this year.
If you know what it is, I’d love to hear from you.

mushroom
The “Brain” Mushroom

Little 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…

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Orange Mushrooms A Few Days Later

I posted a picture of these mushrooms in my previous post and they were just little, orange buttons. Now, a few days later they have “mushroomed” into flat heads as you can see in this photo. I don’t know why, all of a sudden, I am so interested in mushrooms, but I find myself on…

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The Mushrooms are Blooming

Lately there are numerous mushrooms in the yard and in the woods.   Today is sunny and cool and too gorgeous to be inside working…so I took a break and took the camera out to get some mushroom pictures. I have tried to identify these by using my Field Guide to New England, but I am…

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Orange Mushrooms A Few Days Later

mushrooms
A few days later

I posted a picture of these mushrooms in my previous post and they were just little, orange buttons. Now, a few days later they have “mushroomed” into flat heads as you can see in this photo.

I don’t know why, all of a sudden, I am so interested in mushrooms, but I find myself on the lookout for them at this time of year especially when I am walking in the woods.

Maybe it’s because I am surrounded by places where they are easily found, but I just never paid much attention.

mushrooms
The Open Mushrooms

I have no idea what type of mushroom this is. If I had to guess from the pictures and description in my book, I’d guess they are the Jack O’Lantern because they are orange and grow from many stems joined at the base. If that is what they are, then they are poisonous.

In fact most of the mushrooms I ever find turn out to be poisonous. I hope I don’t have to live off the land around here, because there is little to eat!

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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.

A Simple Sweater With Stripes

My newest knitting project is a simple sweater with stripes. A link to the pattern page on Ravelry is further down the page. This one is advertised as a good project to use up stash yarn. I can see how that would be true. I was finishing up knitting the Warm Up sweater (#3), and…

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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.

Understanding Knitting Pattern Theft and Its Impacts

Pay for your knitting patterns. Never accept a copy, or you are actually breaking the law. Designers work hard to create those awesome patterns for us. It’s only a few dollars, but designers need to earn from their creations to keep their small business afloat.

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Alternatives to the Hidden Gems Shawl Pattern

Hidden Gems was a popular free shawl knitting pattern. Since it is no longer available, I have found some similar patterns for knitters. Check out the list and let me know if you choose one.

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