Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: upturned gills

A small group of us were invited to explore the 18-acre property, SW of the city, belonging to Rick and Connie Hillary. This we did, three days ago, on 14 September 2019. This beautiful mix of forest and grassland held so many treasures of the fungus kind. At the very start of our nature walk, Rick was happy to show us the beautiful mushrooms that were growing near his house. What an absolute treat! Even Karel, our fungi leader, had never seen this species before - Shaggy parasol / Chlorophyllum (formerly Macrolepiota) rhacodes. I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw them - so perfect, hiding in the grass. Rick told us there were other species to enjoy, further along the walk. One small area, especially, had a good variety growing amongst the trees. Our cameras barely stopping shooting - so much fun. Two of the three dogs in this family accompanied us for the whole walk. Mother and daughter, who were such loving animals. What a dog paradise they live in, giving them the freedom to run and play-fight, seemingly with boundless energy. Only after several hours, when our walk ended, did their energy seem to run out temporarily, giving me a chance to take photos of them. Thank you so much, Rick and Connie, for your very kind invitation. I hope you could tell how much we enjoyed ourselves! The extra and unexpected kindness of providing us with cheese and crackers and delicious cake afterwards was so much appreciated. Karel, thank you, as always, for your knowledge of the fungi world and for helping us find and learn. I know you will enjoy your mushroom suppers from the Boletes you came across : )

With a weather forecast of rain then mixed precipitation for a few days (8-10 September 2014), there were a couple of places that I thought I had better get to straight away. The first one was Brown-Lowery, to check if there were any mushrooms. I had been there recently, and only found a couple of things. My visit on 6 September was slightly more rewarding and I found several large clusters of tiny mushrooms growing on tree stumps or at the base of trees. Also found several patches of bright orange Coral Fungi, and the little "goblet" in this photo. I liked that the small insect just below the rim was the same colour as the upturned mushroom gills. Quite a few people were in the park, so I felt safer going a very short way in. Far enough, as it turned out, to watch a rare adult and a juvenile Three-toed Woodpecker feeding together on a tree trunk. The young one was copying Mom or Dad, but its soft squeaking sound resulted in the adult feeding it, too. On the way home, I decided to call in at Fish Creek Park, hoping to find a Beaver or a MInk that a friend had told me about (thanks, Phil!). Though I did see a couple of Beavers, I wasn't able to get a decent photo of them (see a photo uploaded today). One of them was a huge animal - this was the one that was recently found in a trap, biting off one of its front legs/feet that was caught in the trap. Someone had been there when this was happening and she made several reports about it. Thanks, Linda, for doing this. Such a cruel way to deal with any Beaver problem! The now three-legged animal seems to be doing OK. I was luckier with the Mink, catching it in a couple of very quick shots.