Traversing the upward elevation of Grandma’s Road, I saw what I took to be a tomato. From above it really did look just like a tomato hidden in the leaf matter, but being a complete amateur in life, I failed to take that particular important photo. Instead, I jumped off my steed to only look with my amateur eyes.

Of course, it wasn’t a tomato at all, just one of the endless varieties of weird looking mushrooms that appear briefly then disappear like the darkness at dawn.

I stopped to look at yesterday’s mushrooms and it’s amazing what one day can do. They sure don’t look as healthy today.

Near the top of the ridge where the short-leaf pines tend to grow, I spotted these two bright white mushrooms pushing up through the pine needles.

A little village of mushrooms on a stick I picked up to throw over the fence.

One of the simple pleasures of living in the hollow is that one can go out the door and be in the woods almost immediately. Recently, a group of us hiked in the woods at dusk – listening and watching for wildlife. Some of the most intriguing inhabitants of the hollow made their presence known. We were deep in the woods when a single coyote howled a distance away. A girl with us howled and yipped and barked in response. Suddenly, two different groups of coyotes broke out with their high-pitched, eerie chorus – apparently responding to the girl’s attempt at humor. While the coyotes were the most dramatic wildlife we heard, we also saw interesting wildlife. Mushrooms are almost always present during the warm months in the hollow. From morels to fairy circles, we see many shapes and varieties of mushrooms. One could dedicate a lifetime to studying them.

Here is a colony of may-apples (also called mandrakes) near the creek. I have been told that they are a good indicator that the soil is ideal for morel mushrooms. I have yet to find the two growing together, though.

These are some Morel Mushrooms found in the hollow about an hour ago.