Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: mushroooms

Steve and I are staying at my brother's home in the San Francisco Bay Area and a couple of days ago (and today also!) his wife took us on a hike up into the San Anselmo hills. It was a lovely day, though very windy and on the cold side, but the views were terrific! I brought my camera along with the hopes that I might find a few subjects to take pictures of. As it turned out, we actually found mushrooms! There were a surprising number of them too, and I am crossing my fingers that I'll get some winners when I get the chance to look at them on my computer. Today's mushrooms were photographed quite a while ago but I didn't have the chance to share them until today. I discovered this pair growing on the side of a rotting log while exploring our lower forest. It's amazing how fast a mushroom can appear when the conditions are right. I'd walked by this spot the day before and didn't see anything of interest. But when I investigated one day later, I found this pair of cutie pies, just waiting for their picture! Pam, I noticed that you have taken some pictures of mushrooms too! I love hunting for them as much as you enjoy finding butterflies on your flowers! I sure do hope that you are doing well today. Thanks so much for the lovely comments you've been leaving me, they make me so happy. Thinking of you every day! Explored on 1/3/19, highest placement, #1.

What an incredibly magical morning it was. Pumpkin and I peeked outside first thing today and found a world cloaked in mist. Fog had filled the valley and wafted up the hills; only the closest trees in our meadow and lower forest could be seen, slipping in and out of view. My walk was wonderful too. As I did my laps I relished the appearance of the forest and meadows shrouded in fog. At one point I noticed movement down by our gate and looked to see several mule deer trotting off into the mist, their tails held up like white flags. Later I heard the cry of a Redtail hawk and turned to watch it materialize and land in a tall pine tree. I stood and watched for the moment it perched there, repeating its calls several times before alighting and flying in a long circle and then away, its cries fading into the distance. At one point I walked off the road and over to an Oak tree. Taking off my glasses, I peered at its moss and lichen-encrusted bark so close that my nose nearly touched the tree. I call this "nose-close" and this is where my horrible nearsightedness pays off. I have what I like to call "micro-vision" because I'm able to see things extremely well if they are very close. Staring at the tiny world in front of me I appreciated the Seussian beauty of the bright green moss tufts. I marveled at the myriad shapes and types of lichen and then..."Ah, there you are!" I'd found what I was looking for! Peering at me shyly from between the cracks in the Oak tree's bark was an incredibly tiny mushroom. We're talking about 1/16"(1.59mm) here. I smiled warmly at the little woodland fairy and soon I found others nearby, some a little larger, others not bigger than the letter "o" in this sentence. These mushrooms are so very small that it's no wonder I'd missed seeing them until just a few years ago. I whispered that I'd be back and slipped quietly away. This afternoon I returned with my camera and macro flash. I spent an hour exploring the tiny worlds I found on each tree and on branches that had fallen to the ground. So many surprises awaited me! It was such fun. In the end I got many wonderful pictures that I hope to share with you as time permits. Today's photo shows one of the "micro-mushrooms" that posed so nicely for me and behind it you'll see a pair of others faded into bokeh. I hope you like this glimpse of the magical lands and its little fairies that I photographed today! Pam, I took you with me on my photo outing today and I pictured you staring at the bark and branches, finding treasures of your own. How fun it would be to run over to see each other's finds and figure out how best to get a picture that showed what we loved about the subject. It will be fun to see your pictures again my dear! For now, this little fairy mushroom is waving hello to you! Explored on 12/16/18, highest placement, #2.

Today while I was on my daily walk, Steve stepped out in his fluffy blue robe and thick warm slippers to say good morning--he usually gets up an hour later because he's got the "sleeping in" thing down to a luxuriant science! Huzzah! At a chilly 31 degrees, no way was he stepping off the porch so I marched over to greet him with a hug and kiss. "ACK!!!" He yelled, reeling back from my affectionate peck. "Your lips are frozen, woman!" I couldn't stop laughing as I gave him a hug. He pulled me tight in an affectionate embrace and then shrieked, "OH MY GOD, you're an ICEBERG!" He rubbed my back bravely but quickly stepped away with a shudder, staring with abject horror. Receding towards the door with a slightly terrified expression on his face, he left me with, "I'm going back into the house where it's warm!" My maniacal giggling followed him as he shut the door. Gee whiz, I've repulsed my own husband! :D And now, let us all bow our heads and take this moment of silence to remember Triangle Man. The other day I posted an image of two lovely mushrooms that I discovered on my way up to our ridgeline trail. At the time I noticed a couple of smaller ones erupting from the earth nearby. In the following days I kept an eye on them but apparently something else was too. In fact, the day after I'd photographed the pair of mushrooms I found one of them laying upside-down nearby and the other one was just plain gone! A few days later, one of the mushrooms I'd been keeping track of disappeared. That left Triangle Man. Oddly shaped with a perfect, rounded-triangle cap, I watched this mushroom slowly force its way up from the soil and grow in size. Yesterday I saw him and burst into song! "Triangle Man, Triangle Man, Triangle Man hates Particle Man They have a fight, Triangle wins Triangle Man" ~ Lyrics from Particle Man , by They Might Be Giants (This is such a fun song that I linked it…ENJOY!!) I thought about taking pictures of Triangle Man but decided against it. The grass was very long in that area and to prep for a picture would have taken too long to be bothered. I decided that instead I would appreciate this fun-looking fungus every day as I walked up and down the driveway. At last he was rising up off the ground and I thought that maybe I would take his picture after all. What's 20 minutes of prepping? Triangle Man was worth it! I planned to take his picture that day but it began to rain and didn't stop all day. This morning Triangle Man was gone. I looked around to see if he might be hiding under a leaf but he was nowhere to be found. Poor Triangle Man. Rudely plucked from the earth and wolfed down by a denizen of the night. His chance at an immortal photograph was dashed. Oh, the cruel, cruel world! We loved you Triangle Man! Since I can't show a picture of Triangle Man, I thought it would be appropriate to share another mushroom picture. This photogenic pair was found a few days ago when I took a walk along the ridgeline trail that runs from our property about a mile away where it peters out. It's a mecca for plants and animals, ever-brimming with photo opportunities. These two were spotted on an Oak stick that fell to the forest floor and was partially covered with leaves. Only when I kneeled down to peer carefully at ground-level did I spot these extremely tiny mushrooms. They are only about ¼" in height! What an awesome find! Pam, I invite you to listen to the song, "Particle Man," which is sure to put a beaming smile on your face while you think about the mushrooms you've seen in your wanderings that are gone the next time you come around. We were so lucky to see them! I'm looking out the window now and thinking of you as I watch the mist drift slowly past the Upper Table Rock. Beautiful...just like you. Explored on 12/14/18, highest placement, #6.