Fun fun Fun..gi and Slime Mold

What should a person do when they live wayyyy out in the country during a a time when you don't feel like co-mingling with other humans?

It is the end of September and the forest is full of creepy, ingenious, and strange growths. So, I spend an hour or so each day walking around the section of the woods that is deep and dark. Where the logs are moss covered. Where old bones from animals lay. It is a place that I didn't go through often because the canopy is so dark and there is little undergrowth.

It is a spooky part of our woods.

I never knew there could be so many things to see in such a small area!

The hard part is trying to figure out what on earth I am finding!

Some of it is easy. Old Chicken of the woods. When fresh, they are bright orange. These are old, but still very impressive in size. Apparently it can be eaten if you know your Fungi. I wouldn't eat this though. Looks a bit on the yucky side.

Blobs.
I found Blobs of white in spots all over the forest floor. I've seen them before but just ignored them while hiking. Not this week. I decided to go ahead and try to figure out what these strange things were.

So at first I poked it with a stick and then with my finger. They feel like a mushroom or fungi. I did some digging and came up with a possible ID. The Shrimp of the Woods. One site said it was a malformed aborted mushroom and another said it was a parasitic fungi that ate other fungi. I am not going to go ahead and give it the scientific name as I am not really quite sure. I have more investigating to do.

I've collected many photos in the past few days and am still trying to figure out what I'm seeing.

Slime Mold?
Here is a photo of my foot in the middle of the white stuff. Is is slime mold? What stage is it if it is?
I really have no idea of what I am seeing so I just photograph it out of curiosity .

Here is a close up of the white stuff. It is gorgeous! It looks like a snow-scape doesn't it? 

Here is the edge of the 'stuff' with a dime for size reference.

It isn't really slimly and icky. Just a bit odd. 

I hunted around the forest a bit more and noted something white on another log. 

Think of the size of flea eggs when you see this as it is a macro shot with my little Tough Camera in the microscopic mode:

I will go back once a day to see what this turns into. I've been trying to do some investigating and slime mold has a 'fruiting' stage.

Oh heck, I have NO idea what I am talking about here.

Just that this stuff is cool, interesting and worth photographing as it changes.

Perhaps I can figure out what it is one of these fine days.

Something tiny but pretty. Yellow Fairy Cup Fungi!

I found this on a piece of wood. Thank goodness for its bright color or I would have missed it. 

The forest always has some sort of surprise!

Here is a slug hugging a tiny puff ball!

And for the last shot of this day another group of fungi growing on a log.

I call these Fungi...a Happy Little Family.

I'm pretty sure I can imagine woodland creatures hiding nearby.

By the way. The color of the trees are magnificent. In the past few days, I've had to run a few errands and I've been able to stop and take some photos.

But this fungi stuff is fascinating also. 

More fall color photos tomorrow. I promise!

And more Strange Fungi or Slime Mold too!

Mushroom ID?

I wish I had a really good book on fungi and mushrooms. But I don't.

September is a neat time of the year to explore the woods in this area. We have misty foggy mornings and it produces neat mushroom/fungi, in the woods.

The morning light filters down through the leaves of the Hickory tree in our front yard. Sundance and Sunshine were waiting for me to come out. They were looking for hay but I transferred them to another pasture where there is a small growth of grass.

They will make quick work of this grass and eat the tastiest parts first.

It will be all 'hay' soon.

Sunday I ran across some neat fungi/mushrooms while hiking with my friends.

I have no idea what they are, only that they were very cool.

Gilled mushroom on a log near the creek. A great place for these little buggers to grow.

Not far from there some more stacked on a log. They are different I ... think. But I should go back and see what they look like after 3 days.

Now these were found on Sunday...

They were not on a log but perhaps growing from the roots of a tree nearby?
There were many growing around some singular and some grouped.

I thought their textures were really neat.

So I went back on Tuesday to see how they shaped up.

I found the single one, however it had been stepped on. I found the little group and was really surprised.

They were hard to spot and changed colors and shape.

And what the heck....

Who doesn't like a bit of slime fungi?

That's it for today. I hope to go out this afternoon and search the woods for some more exciting fungi.

PT for Rich, finish a spot of hand mowing, and get some groceries. I wonder if I'll be able to fit in some wood exploration.
I sure hope so.

September is an exciting time for the fungi in the woods. Soon I can hunt for the huge puffballs.

I'd like to get out and find some. I'm going to try some focus stacking for better and clearer photos of small objects.