I just found out the name of this mushroom from my sister Jan. It is Amanita Muscaria. She was talking about seeing some near her home in Poulsbo WA. And she sent a picture. Only hers was redder. I remembered taking pictures of some similar in color last year at my neighbor's house. So I went over and sure enough they were there again. Same mushroom.
Like a bulldozer they push the dirt aside into a heap, as they emerge from the ground. It appears that something has eaten a hole into this one revealing a shredded mantel inside.
As I was taking this picture I saw another delightful clump of mushrooms almost hidden under a pine tree, and still cradling some of the dirt it had pushed up.
I carefully brushed off the dirt with a soft brush and took another shot from a different angle. I have no idea what these mushrooms are so if any of you know your mushrooms let me know there names. Perhaps you can tell me these too, Jan.
But don't go away, I almost did and almost missed these tiny little gems so small they are easy to over look, and they were right in front of me the whole time I was taking the other pictures. They are so delightful, they look like little paper parasols that you might tuck into a cocktail.
Then I found some very similar mushrooms in my back yard growing out of the moss. Just a bit darker in color and with longer stems.
So even though the bright blossoms are gone and the colorful leaves are falling there is still a lot of wonderful things to see in the yard if you just take fa few moments to look. And what a delightful surprise it is when you find the unexpected.
I feel so lucky to have gotten these shots as clear as I did. I was just using my Nikon coolpix S60 point and shoot. Not bad at all for a little camera.