When we were visiting Camp Tickville last week, I saw this bright little red and yellow thing sticking up out of the dead leaves. At first I thought it was a part from a child's toy. When I got closer I saw it was a strange little mushroom.
It was about four inches tall and looked for all the world like a Roma tomato stuck on top of a #2 yellow pencil.
This is brother-in-law trying to take a picture of it. This bright little thing looked kinda odd in the dullness of the woods. I mean the mushroom, not brother-in-law.
We have the buff white toadstools everywhere but this little critter was new to me. When I looked closer I could see they were all out in the woods.
They were kinda magical. I half expected some elfin creature to pop out from beneath them.
In one of the photos I can see the elfin Mushroom Guard with his quiver of feather arrows, his bow made of a pine needle, and his strange Chinese helmet.
No, we did not made mushroom tea. Thank you for asking.
The other magical thing out in the woods was this enormous petrified land tortoise rock.
I can imagine this guy lumbering along eons ago in the forests of Tarabithia, Arkansas, imparting his centuries-old wisdom on the young children who play there.
And no, you may not have some of my mushroom tea.
