R: Fairy Ring Marasmius?
Today we were able to squeeze in about an hourish of Naturing after volunteering at the Food Bank. Brian has been eager to see Lobos Creek since I visited it, so we went to see that!
Before we started on the trail toward the creek, I spotted HUGE Blewits near the sidewalk on the Lobos Valley side. SO BIG. SO PURPLE. Love those mushrooms. Had no idea they got so big.
The creek appeared to be no higher than when I was last there. And, the area pretty much looked exactly the same. Except, there were way fewer birds. But, there were mushrooms this time. We spotted Mustard Yellow Polypore and Common Rustgill (I think). And, we got to see a couple female Western Bluebirds. We heard a crying Red-shouldered Hawk. And, we saw A TON of Pygmy Nuthatches. Oh, and White-crowned Sparrows, too.
The walk from the end of the creek that opens onto China Beach is still pretty dramatic. The water appeared to be flowing in a different direction through the sand and into the bay than I remember from last time. Weird.
We had a bit of light left, so we headed to the WWII Memorial overlook where we saw Great Horned Owls before. Spotted a couple Fox Sparrows stomping-scraping furiously into the ground. And, I saw Dyer’s Polypore, Fairy Ring Marasmius (?), Bonnets, Chip Cherries, and enormous reddish mushrooms (Redhead Russula?). Thought they were Amanitas at first!
Didn’t hear any GHOs, but we didn’t stay long after dark as it was getting chilly out. Good mushroom day, though! And, I’m so grateful to get even an hourish of time outside inbetween these delicious storms.
The Afternoon Naturalist 