'Shrooms

Today was cold and a little rainy so of course I had to get out in it. Why is it that I tend to stay in and read or play on nice days but the rainy days are almost always outdoor days? My dad had texted me yesterday to see about going birdwatching/mushroom hunting. I can't pass up the chance to be out in the woods. Dad was looking for morels to take home and cook up but we had no luck in that department. I was just hoping for a nice big puffball. I love that they can grow to about basketball size. 

I'm not good about staying on the path when I'm hiking. I tend to just wander off into the woods cutting my own trail or following a deer trail. Thankfully Dad is the same way. We never even touched the nice nature trail the park offered and instead set out in our own direction. The focus was on mushroom hunting but we were interested in pretty much any and all unusual plants. I found this beautiful flower hidden under some huge umbrella like leaves. It's called a May Apple.

We hadn't found any mushrooms yet although I'm not the best at spotting them on the ground. I am excellent with shelf mushrooms though (mushrooms growing into the sides of trees). I found these different types of Turkey Tails. Here is the pure white:

The red and white.

And the grey. 

All members of the same type just with different coloration. Shelf mushrooms often form on dead logs. They are normally easy to spot because they tend to be white or light colors in contrast with the dark wood of the tree. Only hen of the wood shelf mushrooms are truly edible, and only with caution. In fact, unless you can positively identify a mushroom (100% certain) you should never ever eat a wild mushroom. There are only a couple types that aren't poisonous and even the experts are wary. 

Finally we found this interesting looking Dyer's Bracket mushroom. It was the only one of size that we found. It was about the size of my whole hand and just as thick. Cool mushroom but still not edible. 

I loved getting a chance to be out in the woods. We did find this amazing tree that looks like it had been twisted up. I took a couple pictures and both Dad and I speculated on how it had gotten that way. Still not sure. That's not bark by the way. The bark was gone. 

Dad took one mushroom home to try to identify but no real good haul. No mushrooms for me tonight.