In the Hazel Run woods...

Just outside the Hazel Run fence there is a magical forest.
Long before hazel's gardens start showing any color at all, there are flowers to be found in those woods...

Trillium
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Wood Anemone
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Then come the Wild Geraniums...
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...the Hydrangeas...
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...and the Lysimachia
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About the same time that hazel's gardens are beginning to bloom, the mushrooms along the forest edge get really interesting...

...from puff balls...
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...to toadstools...
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...then fully ripe...
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...deer fodder...
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...and, finally, trampled by the hoof they nourish.
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Deer can be such ingrates :D

Yep, you never know what you might find in the woods.

Today you discover some Blackberries...
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...and the aroma of Wild Rose entices your nose.
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What will it be tomorrow?

:shrug:

You'll just have to wander the woods and see :D

There's loads of interesting things around HazelRun! The Lysimachia is pretty and that's the first time I've seen a Puffball mushroom :laughing: :crazy:

I've been seeing the Lysimachia for as long as we've lived here--never knew what it was. Then Saturday, I stopped in at a local nursery and they had something called Lysimachia punctata "Golden Alexander"--looked just like these except the flowers were mono-colored yellow and the leaves were variegated green and gold. So I'm making a bit of an assumption when I call my mystery plant a Lysimachia... :o

I think your guess is bang on, that's what the pics look like if you google Lysimachia :D

I tried that....couldn't open any of the larger pics to see :rolleyes:

:thankyou: for checking for me! :D

:headslap: :sorry: :o I should've posted a pic :rolleyes: :loser:

Lysimachia punctata from http://www.em.ca/garden/per_lysimachia1.html

Oh, ya!!! That's it, alright!!! :highfive:

Cool! :D

Hazel what lovely flowers and fungus u have growing in your woods!! I wish I lived in balmy zone 3! :D

Do the pups get to run in the forest too?

Debbie

Oh, yes. The dogs love running in the woods. That's why we religiously apply their monthly tick repellent! :laughing:

I think that's the first time I've ever heard anyone refer to the climate here as 'balmy' :laugh: I guess it truly does depend on your perspective, doesn't it? My sister lives in Texas and she considers us part of Canada! :D

Gorgeous Amanita mushrooms you have there!

I never seen mushrooms like that before..

but then again I don't live in the country guess I will just have to move :D

Very pretty!! Your woods are looking better than my gardens!!!

Holy Geez, I am coming to live at Hazel's!! What wonderful things to see!!! and explore, Do you think the pack will mind me and 2 drooly boys???

Gorgeous Amanita mushrooms you have there!

Are they edible? :D

I never seen mushrooms like that before..

but then again I don't live in the country guess I will just have to move :D

Or come visit. :D

Very pretty!! Your woods are looking better than my gardens!!!

Better than mine, too, if truth be told. I've always liked that natural look. :cloud9:

Holy Geez, I am coming to live at Hazel's!! What wonderful things to see!!! and explore, Do you think the pack will mind me and 2 drooly boys???

Nope, the Pack will love the company. Bring tick repellent, though--we don't have enough for the Boys... :o :laughing:

I never seen mushrooms like that before..

but then again I don't live in the country guess I will just have to move :D

Amanitas (Fly Agaric) can pop up just about anywhere (not just in the country!), but they have a special symbiotic relationship with certain Pine trees. So check under your nearest evergreen and try to look for them. They start out as egg shaped then pop up like an umbrella, flatten out, and then finally like a chalice cup shape before dying. Sometimes they are solitary, and other times grow in a giant fairy ring or straight line.

I think the one Hazel has is the Amanita muscaria var. guessowii. But most people have seen the red with white spots (in art with fairies, or Christmas themed), it's the most common other than the all white version. :D

Are they edible? :D


Errr... yes and no. I've never tried and not really interested. Let's just say they aren't gourmet. lol Raw Amanita will wreck your liver and dried Amanita will make you :crazy: or :cloud9: Certain shamanic tribes have ingested the dried form for "visionary experiences." There are interesting theories as to the stories of Santa, his outfit colors, the mushrooms as decorations on the xmas tree (and as "presents" underneath the tree), the mushrooms drying in socks over the fire (stockings), and the entrance of the shaman/Santa through the fire hole in the ceiling, especially if the snow was too tall for the shaman to enter through the ground level door. Can't forget flying reindeer and the elves. :D

Hmmm...interesting...but I think I'll pass! :laughing:

Actually, I've heard the name Fly Agaric before somewhere...

Oh, and they're growing under hemlock and spruce, but the area used to be predominantly red and white pine... :thumbs up

That's cool!

They "feed" the trees and the trees "feed" the mushroom underground parts.
Mushroom mycelia can reach much farther for soil nutrients and water and they are rewarded by the plant with sugars from photosynthesis.

You can get rid of the mushroom without hurting the underground bits just by cutting it off at the base rather than stomping, yanking. It won't hurt you to handle it though.

Geez I sound like a boring teacher. lol

I never get rid of the mushrooms...the deer eat them (and kick them over sometimes) and if they remain intact, it's fascinating to watch them age... I've got a thing for mushrooms :D I've never minded having a fungus among us...as long as it was a mushroom and not a mold or a mildew. :p

Oh My! I've never seen toadstools like that, other than in Fairytale books!

Humph....you didn't happen to see prince toads underneath any of them eh? :laughing::laughing:

Wild roses always hold a special spot in my heart and I love white hydrangeas too. :lovestruck:

Very nice peaceful pictures and great story line Hazel. :thumbs up

This year we actually have a wild rose growing at the base of the safety light pole...not sure if it's always been there and just been weed whacked all these years, or if it's a recent sprout...but hubby got behind on the weed whacking and all of a sudden, there it was...blooming! :cloud9:

No princely toads under the toadstools...or on the toadstools, for that matter. :D In fact, no toads at all this year...too many snakes :o