Midwinter Mushroom Hunt

Lis got me Missouri's Wild Mushrooms for one of my Christmas gifts.

The day turned out to be one of the welcome mild ones we sometimes get on Christmas, with a temperature of  50. We set out to identify a mushroom on a stump that looked interesting when it first appeared weeks ago, after a rain.

This one would have been edible had I plucked it when it first showed up. We tentatively identified it as an Oyster Mushroom. Best of all, nothing poisonous looks like it in Missouri. New ones were forming at the bottom of the Tulip Poplar stump. It's in a convenient location between the house and the chicken coop, where I can keep an eye on it.

There were three different fungi on that stump.

We had already had feasts and candy and presents with the kids, so a long walk in the woods was most welcome. Our family is one of the odd ones who never go to the movies on Christmas. Long walks are much more to our liking.

These little ones were growing inside a hollow stump. 

We found lots of these on really dead trees in the woods. False Turkey Tails on the left, I think.

Reading the book made me glad I hadn't tried some red mushrooms that appear every in fall under the oak tree. I found their picture under Emetic Russula, with a little skull and crossbones alongside the name.

Best of all, the book greatly extended my mushroom-hunting season. Another outdoor hobby, what fun.

Lissa enjoyed finding mushrooms in winter, too. She dragged back a long sycamore limb for the fire. Another fun mother-daughter outing. I know, we really must learn to get in step with the populace and go to the movies on Christmas.