I went on a hike yesterday in the open green space behind my house. It was simply magical. The recent rain we had gave the fields a phosphorescent glow and all the birds and bunnies were out. I decided to venture down some smaller animal paths that I hadn't been down before and that's where I made my happy discovery. There, beneath a graceful old oak tree, in the dappled sunlight was not one, but four Amanita Muscaria:
I suddenly felt like I was in a dream. They seemed too good to be true. In my 48 years I've never chanced to make such a discovery. I was ecstatic! I scurried home and grabbed my cameras and some containers (gives a new meaning to Glad Ware) and returned to the site, trying not to burst out along the way, passing by several neighbors who were sitting on their stoops or working in their gardens. "Poker face, poker face", I kept telling myself.
When I got to the field I saw a couple of bunnies out on the grass at the edge of their habitat. I walked toward them to try to get some photos and they hopped into the bushes. I went over to the place where they entered and saw more Amanita Muscaria! Bigger than the ones I had seen before. I felt like a little kid on an easter egg hunt. Lewis Carroll must be smiling, "She followed the rabbits through the hole and there you are."
I found several types including this lovely golden one. You can see a little bug chewing on it in the close-up (you can click on all of the photos for a better look):
I remembered from reading so many Italian travel memoirs that you don't pull the whole mushroom up, root and all. You break it off at the level of the soil, leaving behind a stump (seen at the bottom of the next photo) to regenerate. I was very careful to do this, covering the stump afterward with soil and a top dressing of decaying oak leaves.
Below is a cluster of two. the one on the left is half-eaten. I left these for the critters who were enjoying them.
The next one was hiding snug down in the dirt. I didn't know it was so big until I harvested it. It weighs about a half pound. Very dense.
The one below was a strange sort of orb shape. It really did look like an easter egg.
Here you can see how little creatures have nibbled on this one and licked off the white spots on half of it:
Careful to leave a stump:
I could only safely fit a couple of them into my containers. Two of them I had to carry openly in my hands so as not to damage them. I live less than two blocks from this site and it took me at least an hour to walk home with all of the people stopping to chat. A cute couple in their pick-up truck with their dog drove in reverse down the street when they saw what I was carrying. They were on their way to forage and were keen to caution me several times over, "Wash your hands really, really well." Which reminds me, I need to go and check on the neighbor's dog who licked my hand on the way home.
Marcel took the photo of me when I got home. You can see the state of my hair from crawling through the bunny brambles!
So Sylvie 