Instead of fungi

I just can't seem to get over my fascination with all the fungi. Kev and I took a walk around the pond yesterday evening before he had to leave for work (midnight-12), and I was stopping every other minute to admire fungi... and to also allow Kev to admire them all, as well. Let's just say his fascination is not equal to mine. I pointed out all of their unique colors, shapes and lovely patterns anyway.

Kev was also enthusiastically pointing out to me the things that fascinate him... like the many buck rubs on the saplings coming up thickly in the woods surrounding the pond. Then the ovals of flattened grass around the edges of the pond where the deer have been bedding down. Ok, I admit that I was also fascinated by his fascinations. The flattened ovals were all in different directions, so you could see that the deer were laying with some of them facing one way and some another. Kevin said that's so that they have a lookout for each direction. Wary deer.

When we got to the other end of the pond, finishing up our walk, there was another area of flattened grass ovals. On one of the ovals, just at the edge in the not-flattened grass, was a lovely white mushroom. And we're back...

Of course, this time of year, the falling leaves are doing their best to cover everything. When I would come across a mushroom or toadstool trying to rise above the leaves, I regretted not having my camera with me on our walk.

Old stumps and our many log piles are treasure troves of fungi. When I head out for a walk with my camera, I seem to head first towards a log pile... I think the logs themselves are also beautiful. The older the stack of logs, the more interesting the logs become. The logs change color and shape, and as they decay, their "bones" start to show. There are so many shades of gray in a log pile.



Birch tend to rot quickly, as birch is a very soft wood. Birch is nice on a campfire because it burns brightly. Since we had so many birch trees die in the past few years, from a borer or disease that went through our area, I can't remember exactly what... Kev has harvested a lot of dead birch trees. I thought the resting place this leaf found made a pretty picture.