The scorched grass of summer morphs into verdant lushness.
The air sparkles.
Leaves tremble.
I’m Alice In Wonderland, admiring a toadstool.
Am I too big?
Or are they too small?
Looking around, I’m disappointed there’s no bottle labelled ‘drink me.’
Still, I’m enchanted.
Anything this beautiful must be magical – – but NO.
Research says this is probably Amanita muscaria. Hallucinogenic, YES. But not in a good way. Bad. Very BAD.
Fungus & mushrooms are a mystery to me. Our rainforest abounds with their fruiting bodies each autumn.
They’re so exotic looking – so tempting.
Haida Gwaii (also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) is mushroom heaven. I went there one September to visit friends & forage chanterelles. We found so many varieties I lost count. And the 2 volumes on Mushroom ID just made me even more nervous about proper recognition.
So many. So similar. So tasty. So deadly.
Too risky.
Each year the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society host a Wild Mushroom Information Day at Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary. Perhaps I should be brave this year and give it a try.
Or maybe playing with my camera in the woods is more my style. Hmmm.
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Garden Variety Life 
Stick to the camera, it is safer.
Agreed. I went to the wild mushroom show yesterday & was amazed at the variety of fungus on display… Super interesting, but intimidating,too. Some deadly, some edible, some medicinal…. Some really pretty, and others wouldn’t catch my eye coz they look like wrinkled fall leaves… So much to learn.