This year, in addition to all the native asters and goldenrods, our annual late summer trip to Downeast Maine featured a huge variety of mushrooms. Ususally on our walks through the woods we see a lot of different mushrooms, but this year was exceptional in both quantity and variety. All of the rain, about twice the average for August, has set the table for mushrooms to grow.
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| These were the first mushrooms I saw, but there were many more to come... |
I'm not a mushroom expert, in fact I don't think I know any of the names, but I know I do like the way they look. The following are sampling of the hundred or so photos I took during a one hour walk. If anyone can tell me the names of these fungi it would be much appreciated.
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| This little cup is about an inch across. |
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| This form was fairly common. |
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| These white mushrooms were less common along our walk. |
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While I am often looking for a pristine specimen,
an aged cap can offer a more interesting image. |
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| These inch-tall fungi are among my favorite, they look like tiny space invaders. |
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This older specimen shows a lot of character,
especially on the stalk. |
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This was my foavorite shot of the day. I had not seen
this type of mushroom growing in a standing tree before. |
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| We almost missed seeing these dark mushrooms. |
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| These were the only puffballs we saw this day. |
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More inch-tall mushrooms. I had to set the camera
on the ground to get this angle. |
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| Another 'ground' shot. |
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| These bracket mushrooms caught my eye with their irridescent edges. |
Thank heavens for my digital camera and for auto-focus! I'm sure I would have run out of film in the first hour with my old SLR. I also want to thank my two mushroom spotters who found most of these for me.
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