Fungi foray, West Bragg Creek, 31 August 2018

This morning, the first day of September, is cloudy, cool (9C with a windchill of 6C), with very light rain briefly. It feels like summer is over - a summer that has passed in a flash. Some of the trees are already getting yellow leaves. I'm really hoping that fall this year will be long, sunny and beautiful. It is the Labour Day long weekend. "Labour Day is a statutory holiday in Alberta, which is a paid general holiday for employees who are eligible. Labour Day is on the 1st Monday in September every year." Yesterday, 31 August 2018, I went on a fungi foray with a group of friends, out west of the city at West Bragg Creek. The trail we followed was the same as the one I took friend, Pam, along on 15 August. On the way home, a handful of us called in at a second spot, but the mushrooms seen that day were all in bad shape yesterday. This last short walk started with four of us and then it was just our leader and myself towards the end. Near the beginning of this second walk, we discovered that there must have been heavy rain that had caused a small stream flowing down the hill. This had turned to wet, very slippery mud, which made walking somewhat treacherous - as I soon found out! What a sight I was, covered in mud from shoulder to shoes : ) A lot of mess to clear up when I eventually got home. A good job I had driven myself out there, not car-pooled. Once again, it shows how dangerous it can be to look for fungi, lol. We didn't see a lot of fungi, but enough to make the trip worthwhile. Our leader sent an email of photos and IDs of some of the ones we found, but there are others for which I don't have the ID. As always, any ID given for any fungus is tentative, as mushrooms are extremely difficult to identify. As far as eating wild mushrooms goes, unless you are a real expert, never take the risk of being poisoned or made very ill. Several species have deadly look-alikes. There are even some species that make you very ill if you eat them and drink alcohol, As our main Naturalist in the city always says: "All mushrooms can be eaten, sometimes only once!" An interesting little book is "Wild Edible Mushrooms of Alberta: a Field Guide" by Tom Cervenka, published by Northern Bushcraft. northernbushcraft.com/wild-edible-mushrooms-of-alberta.php People tend to have different opinions about mushrooms. Some go searching just for ones that are edible and can be collected, while others go to look for what species they can find. My reason is to simply take photos, leaving each one in place so that others can see the beauty that I was lucky enough to see. By the way, the mushroom in this photo was picked by our leader in order to show us the underside. Usually, we see Pholiotas growing around the base of a tree, but this little cluster was growing away from trees, in the grass at the edge of the trail. I love the texture of Pholiotas. It is important to note that it is illegal to pick mushrooms in national or provincial parks, protected areas such as ecological or special reserves, and recreation areas.

This morning, the first day of September, is cloudy, cool (9C with a windchill of 6C), with very light rain briefly. It feels like summer is over - a summer that has passed in a flash. Some of the trees are already getting yellow leaves. I'm really hoping that fall this year will be long, sunny and beautiful. It is the Labour Day long weekend. "Labour Day is a statutory holiday in Alberta, which is a paid general holiday for employees who are eligible. Labour Day is on the 1st Monday in September every year." Yesterday, 31 August 2018, I went on a fungi foray with a group of friends, out west of the city at West Bragg Creek. The trail we followed was the same as the one I took friend, Pam, along on 15 August. On the way home, a handful of us called in at a second spot, but the mushrooms seen that day were all in bad shape yesterday. This last short walk started with four of us and then it was just our leader and myself towards the end. Near the beginning of this second walk, we discovered that there must have been heavy rain that had caused a small stream flowing down the hill. This had turned to wet, very slippery mud, which made walking somewhat treacherous - as I soon found out! What a sight I was, covered in mud from shoulder to shoes : ) A lot of mess to clear up when I eventually got home. A good job I had driven myself out there, not car-pooled. Once again, it shows how dangerous it can be to look for fungi, lol. We didn't see a lot of fungi, but enough to make the trip worthwhile. Our leader sent an email of photos and IDs of some of the ones we found, but there are others for which I don't have the ID. As always, any ID given for any fungus is tentative, as mushrooms are extremely difficult to identify. As far as eating wild mushrooms goes, unless you are a real expert, never take the risk of being poisoned or made very ill. Several species have deadly look-alikes. As our main Naturalist in the city always says: "All mushrooms can be eaten, sometimes only once!" An interesting little book is "Wild Edible Mushrooms of Alberta: a Field Guide" by Tom Cervenka, published by Northern Bushcraft. northernbushcraft.com/wild-edible-mushrooms-of-alberta.php People tend to have different opinions about mushrooms. Some go searching just for ones that are edible and can be collected to be eaten, while others go to look for what species they can find. My reason is to simply take photos, leaving each one in place so that others can see the beauty that I was lucky enough to see. It is important to note that it is illegal to pick mushrooms in national or provincial parks, protected areas such as ecological or special reserves, and recreation areas.

This morning, the first day of September, is cloudy, cool (9C with a windchill of 6C), with very light rain briefly. It feels like summer is over - a summer that has passed in a flash. Some of the trees are already getting yellow leaves. I'm really hoping that fall this year will be long, sunny and beautiful. Yesterday, 31 August 2018, I went on a fungi foray with a group of friends, out west of the city at West Bragg Creek. The trail we followed was the same as the one I took friend, Pam, along on 15 August. On the way home, a handful of us called in at a second spot, but the mushrooms seen that day were all in bad shape yesterday. This last short walk started with four of us and then it was just our leader and myself towards the end. Near the beginning of this second walk, we discovered that there must have been heavy rain that had caused a small stream flowing down the hill. This had turned to wet, very slippery mud, which made walking somewhat treacherous - as I soon found out! What a sight I was, covered in mud from shoulder to shoes : ) A lot of mess to clear up when I eventually got home. A good job I had driven myself out there, not car-pooled. Once again, it shows how dangerous it can be to look for fungi, lol. We didn't see a lot of fungi, but enough to make the trip worthwhile. Our leader sent an email of photos and IDs of some of the ones we found, but there are others for which I don't have the ID. As always, any ID given for any fungus is tentative, as mushrooms are extremely difficult to identify. As far as eating wild mushrooms goes, unless you are a real expert, never take the risk of being poisoned or made very ill. Several species have deadly look-alikes. As our main Naturalist in the city always says: "All mushrooms can be eaten, sometimes only once!" An interesting little book is "Wild Edible Mushrooms of Alberta: a Field Guide" by Tom Cervenka, published by Northern Bushcraft. northernbushcraft.com/wild-edible-mushrooms-of-alberta.php People tend to have different opinions about mushrooms. Some go searching just for ones that are edible and can be collected to be eaten, while others go to look for what species they can find. My reason is to simply take photos, leaving each one in place so that others can see the beauty that I was lucky enough to see. It is important to note that it is illegal to pick mushrooms in national or provincial parks, protected areas such as ecological or special reserves, and recreation areas.

This morning, the first day of September, is cloudy, cool (9C with a windchill of 6C), with very light rain briefly. It feels like summer is over - a summer that has passed in a flash. Some of the trees are already getting yellow leaves. I'm really hoping that fall this year will be long, sunny and beautiful. It is the Labour Day long weekend. "Labour Day is a statutory holiday in Alberta, which is a paid general holiday for employees who are eligible. Labour Day is on the 1st Monday in September every year." Yesterday, 31 August 2018, I went on a fungi foray with a group of friends, out west of the city at West Bragg Creek. The trail we followed was the same as the one I took friend, Pam, along on 15 August. On the way home, a handful of us called in at a second spot, but the mushrooms seen that day were all in bad shape yesterday. This last short walk started with four of us and then it was just our leader and myself towards the end. Near the beginning of this second walk, we discovered that there must have been heavy rain that had caused a small stream flowing down the hill. This had turned to wet, very slippery mud, which made walking somewhat treacherous - as I soon found out! What a sight I was, covered in mud from shoulder to shoes : ) A lot of mess to clear up when I eventually got home. A good job I had driven myself out there, not car-pooled. Once again, it shows how dangerous it can be to look for fungi, lol. We didn't see a lot of fungi, but enough to make the trip worthwhile. Our leader sent an email of photos and IDs of some of the ones we found, but there are others for which I don't have the ID. As always, any ID given for any fungus is tentative, as mushrooms are extremely difficult to identify. As far as eating wild mushrooms goes, unless you are a real expert, never take the risk of being poisoned or made very ill. Several species have deadly look-alikes. As our main Naturalist in the city always says: "All mushrooms can be eaten, sometimes only once!" An interesting little book is "Wild Edible Mushrooms of Alberta: a Field Guide" by Tom Cervenka, published by Northern Bushcraft. northernbushcraft.com/wild-edible-mushrooms-of-alberta.php People tend to have different opinions about mushrooms. Some go searching just for ones that are edible and can be collected to be eaten, while others go to look for what species they can find. My reason is to simply take photos, leaving each one in place so that others can see the beauty that I was lucky enough to see. It is important to note that it is illegal to pick mushrooms in national or provincial parks, protected areas such as ecological or special reserves, and recreation areas.

Adding three photos tonight, as I have a very early start to the day tomorrow. All three of these photos were taken yesterday, 31 August 2018, during a fungi foray. This morning, the first day of September, was cloudy, cool (9C with a windchill of 6C), with very light rain briefly. The sun did come out later in the day. It feels like summer is over - a summer that has passed in a flash. Some of the trees are already getting yellow leaves. I'm really hoping that fall this year will be long, sunny and beautiful. It is the Labour Day long weekend. "Labour Day is a statutory holiday in Alberta, which is a paid general holiday for employees who are eligible. Labour Day is on the 1st Monday in September every year." Yesterday, 31 August 2018, I went on a fungi foray with a group of friends, out west of the city at West Bragg Creek. The trail we followed was the same as the one I took friend, Pam, along on 15 August. On the way home, a handful of us called in at a second spot, but the mushrooms seen that day were all in bad shape yesterday. This last short walk started with four of us and then it was just our leader and myself towards the end. Near the beginning of this second walk, we discovered that there must have been heavy rain that had caused a small stream flowing down the hill. This had turned to wet, very slippery mud, which made walking somewhat treacherous - as I soon found out! What a sight I was, covered in mud from shoulder to shoes : ) A lot of mess to clear up when I eventually got home. A good job I had driven myself out there, not car-pooled. Once again, it shows how dangerous it can be to look for fungi, lol. We didn't see a lot of fungi, but enough to make the trip worthwhile. Our leader sent an email of photos and IDs of some of the ones we found, but there are others for which I don't have the ID. As always, any ID given for any fungus is tentative, as mushrooms are extremely difficult to identify. As far as eating wild mushrooms goes, unless you are a real expert, never take the risk of being poisoned or made very ill. Several species have deadly look-alikes. As our main Naturalist in the city always says: "All mushrooms can be eaten, sometimes only once!" An interesting little book is "Wild Edible Mushrooms of Alberta: a Field Guide" by Tom Cervenka, published by Northern Bushcraft. northernbushcraft.com/wild-edible-mushrooms-of-alberta.php People tend to have different opinions about mushrooms. Some go searching just for ones that are edible and can be collected to be eaten, while others go to look for what species they can find. My reason is to simply take photos, leaving each one in place so that others can see the beauty that I was lucky enough to see. It is important to note that it is illegal to pick mushrooms in national or provincial parks, protected areas such as ecological or special reserves, and recreation areas.

Adding three photos tonight, as I have a very early start to the day tomorrow. All three of these photos were taken yesterday, 31 August 2018, during a fungi foray. One of the new participants arrived with a dog, unfortunately, and especially because it is summer, you just can't leave a dog in a car while you go off somewhere. It is so easy to trip over a dog's leash on a walk like this. He was a beautiful, quiet dog, I have to say. This morning, the first day of September, was cloudy, cool (9C with a windchill of 6C), with very light rain briefly. The sun did eventually come out later in the day. It feels like summer is over - a summer that has passed in a flash. Some of the trees are already getting yellow leaves. I'm really hoping that fall this year will be long, sunny and beautiful. It is the Labour Day long weekend. "Labour Day is a statutory holiday in Alberta, which is a paid general holiday for employees who are eligible. Labour Day is on the 1st Monday in September every year." Yesterday, 31 August 2018, I went on a fungi foray with a group of friends, out west of the city at West Bragg Creek. The trail we followed was the same as the one I took friend, Pam, along on 15 August. On the way home, a handful of us called in at a second spot, but the mushrooms seen that day were all in bad shape yesterday. This last short walk started with four of us and then it was just our leader and myself towards the end. Near the beginning of this second walk, we discovered that there must have been heavy rain that had caused a small stream flowing down the hill. This had turned to wet, very slippery mud, which made walking somewhat treacherous - as I soon found out! What a sight I was, covered in mud from shoulder to shoes : ) A lot of mess to clear up when I eventually got home. A good job I had driven myself out there, not car-pooled. Once again, it shows how dangerous it can be to look for fungi, lol. We didn't see a lot of fungi, but enough to make the trip worthwhile. Our leader sent an email of photos and IDs of some of the ones we found, but there are others for which I don't have the ID. As always, any ID given for any fungus is tentative, as mushrooms are extremely difficult to identify. As far as eating wild mushrooms goes, unless you are a real expert, never take the risk of being poisoned or made very ill. Several species have deadly look-alikes. As our main Naturalist in the city always says: "All mushrooms can be eaten, sometimes only once!" An interesting little book is "Wild Edible Mushrooms of Alberta: a Field Guide" by Tom Cervenka, published by Northern Bushcraft. northernbushcraft.com/wild-edible-mushrooms-of-alberta.php People tend to have different opinions about mushrooms. Some go searching just for ones that are edible and can be collected to be eaten, while others go to look for what species they can find. My reason is to simply take photos, leaving each one in place so that others can see the beauty that I was lucky enough to see. It is important to note that it is illegal to pick mushrooms in national or provincial parks, protected areas such as ecological or special reserves, and recreation areas.

Adding three photos tonight, as I have a very early start to the day tomorrow. All three of these photos were taken yesterday, 31 August 2018, during a fungi foray. Is this a Russula borealis? This morning, the first day of September, was cloudy, cool (9C with a windchill of 6C), with very light rain briefly. The sun did come out later in the day. It feels like summer is over - a summer that has passed in a flash. Some of the trees are already getting yellow leaves. I'm really hoping that fall this year will be long, sunny and beautiful. It is the Labour Day long weekend. "Labour Day is a statutory holiday in Alberta, which is a paid general holiday for employees who are eligible. Labour Day is on the 1st Monday in September every year." Yesterday, 31 August 2018, I went on a fungi foray with a group of friends, out west of the city at West Bragg Creek. The trail we followed was the same as the one I took friend, Pam, along on 15 August. On the way home, a handful of us called in at a second spot, but the mushrooms seen that day were all in bad shape yesterday. This last short walk started with four of us and then it was just our leader and myself towards the end. Near the beginning of this second walk, we discovered that there must have been heavy rain that had caused a small stream flowing down the hill. This had turned to wet, very slippery mud, which made walking somewhat treacherous - as I soon found out! What a sight I was, covered in mud from shoulder to shoes : ) A lot of mess to clear up when I eventually got home. A good job I had driven myself out there, not car-pooled. Once again, it shows how dangerous it can be to look for fungi, lol. We didn't see a lot of fungi, but enough to make the trip worthwhile. Our leader sent an email of photos and IDs of some of the ones we found, but there are others for which I don't have the ID. As always, any ID given for any fungus is tentative, as mushrooms are extremely difficult to identify. As far as eating wild mushrooms goes, unless you are a real expert, never take the risk of being poisoned or made very ill. Several species have deadly look-alikes. As our main Naturalist in the city always says: "All mushrooms can be eaten, sometimes only once!" An interesting little book is "Wild Edible Mushrooms of Alberta: a Field Guide" by Tom Cervenka, published by Northern Bushcraft. northernbushcraft.com/wild-edible-mushrooms-of-alberta.php People tend to have different opinions about mushrooms. Some go searching just for ones that are edible and can be collected to be eaten, while others go to look for what species they can find. My reason is to simply take photos, leaving each one in place so that others can see the beauty that I was lucky enough to see. It is important to note that it is illegal to pick mushrooms in national or provincial parks, protected areas such as ecological or special reserves, and recreation areas.

I needed to edit this photo to send to our fungi leader - thought I would add it here. It was only when I got home and downloaded my photos from a fungi foray that I noticed the Blue Stain on the log. While we were walking in that very spot, we were talking about seeing the beautiful turquoise 'cups' of Blue Stain a number of years ago in this same area. I have added a macro photo of turquoise cups of Blue Stain, taken at the Perrenoud Wildlife Habitat Area, north west of the city, on September 24, 2010, in a comment box below. Apparently, it could also be C. aeruginosa. You can only tell the difference by looking at the spores. Such an unusual colour to see in a forest. www.mushroomexpert.com/chlorociboria_aeruginascens.html