Another Post About Mushrooms

I know, I know. What can I say? I'm a bit obsessed. It's been a banner year for mushrooms so I'm enjoying them all before the snow flies and my world is covered in white.

After my mushroom dyeing experiment the other day, I took the advice of the talented Kim and decided to alter my technique a bit. I needed some more mushrooms in order to re-dye so I headed back into the woods for a look.

I snuck out early in the morning while kiddies were sleeping and everything was still wet with dew. It dampened my pant legs but it highlighted the spider webs and made smoke stacks out of broken tree trunks.  A good trade, I'd say.

can you see the steam?

I was after more lobster mushrooms of course, but saw some other beauties along the way.

(click on the images to see them a little better)

love the purple edges

tiny amethyst deceiver

love this color palette

I passed by an old man of the woods, laying where he had fallen.  Poor old man.

I saw a few mushrooms that I have never seen before, inclulding this spiky pair, sprouting from the moss-covered base of a tree. They sort of reminded me of crab legs with all those bumps.

scaly pholiota - poisonous but not deadly

I also saw this, which at first I thought was deer feces. Upon closer inspection (yeah, I inspected it even though it might have been deer poop...I know...) I saw that this was a clump of deep green mushrooms.

not deer poop, it's a green-headed jelly club

I also saw this little furry guy that I thought at first was a blob of mold or a errant pom pom. I saw several of these, but have never noticed them before this trip.  I think they're some sort of young mushroom emerging maybe.  Underneath it is just a small tan stalked mushroom.

I saw these guys too. We know who you are, Destroying Angel twins.

deadly

It's so hard to resist poking these little dried up puffballs. Aww, who am I kidding? I poked them.

jellied false coral next to a little puffball

The colors on these false turkey-tails are amazing.  They're very thin, like potato chips.

I've been watching this tree decay over the past few years.  Nature's work in progress.

Finally I was at the lobster mushroom spot. I peered around the corner...

...and there they were! 

Oh no, it's not that simple.  I have to work a little for my lobsters.  Do you see him?

success!

After I had gathered the few I could find, I headed home to try dyeing again.

with some acorn caps and rocks, too

It's subtle, but the color on the right is my re-dye. I took Kim's advice and heated the wool with the dyestuffs this time rather than adding the wool to a cool dye. I was still concerned about the lightfastness so I dried the wool in the sun and it still retained a deeper pink shade. Thanks Kim, for the tip!

on the left is my first batch, to the right is the re-dye

If you've hung with me all the way to the end, thank you!  You're troopers. (or maybe mushroom fans like me)

Happy Thursday.