More mushroom hunting

There are so many mushrooms to see in our woods. My big people said it's because of all the rain this year. I think I like the rain, it cools things off, sounds good as it hits the house, makes everything fresh again, and makes all these lovely mushrooms grow.

Another white lacy mushroom.

Robin? Robin, come see this patch of orange mushrooms I found...Robin? I have no idea where

I thought this was a rather nasty looking mushroom and almost didn't stop to look at it but decided my mushroom hunting wouldn't be complete unless I took a closer look at all the mushrooms. I couldn't convince Robin to get anywhere near this one, she was afraid it might get her dress dirty. She may have been right, a solid white dress may not survive a trip into the woods. I'm worried about my new dress and its brown.

Such a pretty bright little mushroom. It's a refreshing sight after that last one.

I really liked this little orangeish-yellow mushroom. It was almost as pretty as the lacy white one.

And here, almost hidden under a leaf, was another little pink one.

This one didn't look to pretty either. I wondered if it might be prettier from underneath but it wasn't.

This one was kind of neat though. I imagine it might look like something from the ocean.

And this one...this one, was really neat. I think we could turn it into a snowman with a little coal and a carrot.

I'm beginning to wonder if I will ever stop finding new kinds of mushrooms. There are just so many mushrooms in our woods.

And they are all interesting in their own way.

This one was growing up around the trunk of a little tree...or is that a shrub? I can't really tell.

Finding these super tiny mushrooms is like a special treat because they are so hard to spot.

Robin joined me next to another mushroom that was growing up around a small plant of some sort. We thought that was a good place to rest our legs.

This tiny little mushroom hardly even looks like a mushroom.

This doesn't look like a mushroom either. I'm not even sure it is a mushroom.

Hunting mushrooms makes one tired. I think I'll rest here for a while and hunt again later.

A toad friend

While exploring our backyard on our first foray into the woods, I found this little toad hiding among the leaves. 

At first I was afraid to get too close to him for fear he might hop away. Tillie didn't share my worry of scaring our little friend away, she just scooped him right up and plopped him in my lap. I was very surprised to see that he stayed where she put him. It was as if he wanted to be held.

Tillie wanted a chance to hold him too so she scooped him up again. I was sure he would hop away this time but he didn't. He cuddled up in Tillie's lap too.

Isn't he cute?

Mushroom hunting

Today was a good day for a walk in our woods. The weather was warm but I didn't think it too hot to venture out of doors. I did discover, after some time in the woods, that it was a bit warmer than I thought it was but by then I was having to much fun to be concerned about the heat. What's a little heat when I have all this wonderful creation to look at and enjoy?

While walking in the woods I found this amazing mushroom. I'd never seen a mushroom like it before. It was just too neat not to get a closer look. 

Mushrooms are poisonous so I was careful not to touch my face after touching it.

Robin was off exploring the woods so I called her back so she could see this neat mushroom too. Who knows if we will ever see another one like it. She was just as enchanted with it as I was and had to get a closer look too. We both reminded each other that mushrooms are poisonous and that we should not eat them or touch our faces after handling them. Really, we probably shouldn't be touching them, we did tell the big people to never touch them, we wouldn't want to lose one of our big people, but there was just too much temptation in that mushroom for little dolls to resist touching.

After seeing such a neat mushroom I wanted to hunt for more mushrooms, to see what other kinds I could find but Robin wanted to explore the woods. We agreed to do a little of both, I would hunt for mushrooms while we explored the woods.

Look at this dainty little lacy mushroom. So bright and white and pretty. I wouldn't mind having this in our house, it would sure make the place prettier.

This one looked like a table or a pancake, I couldn't decide which.

And this one...isn't it neat? I almost missed seeing it because it blended into the woods so well. And it's almost as tall as I am.

From tall mushrooms to teeny tiny ones. Here is a mushroom about the size of my hand.

It seemed like everywhere I looked there were more and more mushrooms. Sometimes I just turned in a circle and saw so many different kinds of mushrooms that I didn't know which ones to look at first and sometimes I found different kinds of mushrooms in the same spot. 

Robin spent more time exploring other places than getting up close to the mushrooms. She was happy to walk along and look at them from a distance. Not me. I wanted to get as close to them as I could and see all the differences in them.

One of my big people found a log, I think it was a branch off a tree, that was covered in moss and mushrooms. It was so pretty. I wanted to take it home and keep it.

Look at the pretty orange mushrooms growing in the moss.

And look at this tiny little brown mushroom. It's even tiny for a Hitty doll.

This little mushroom looked almost like a fuzzy plate.

There were mushrooms everywhere. I sat down on a log to take a rest and discovered more mushrooms growing on the side of it.

I'm not real sure if this little round thing is a mushroom or not but it was growing out of the ground, I checked. It was connected. It was soft and puffy too. When I pushed on it the sides gave under my hand. One of my big people said that if I had pushed hard enough it would have let out a puff of air and if I had tossed it in the air it would have let out a puff of air too. I guess they are little puff balls but I don't know if they are mushrooms.

These little mushrooms blend into the leaves so well that I almost walked right past them. They would make perfect sized flowers for little dolls if they were flowers. I can see them in a vase on a Hitty sized table, not that we have a Hitty sized table, but I could see this little mushroom there anyway, if only it were a flower and not a mushroom.

Robin found this thing. We weren't sure what it was, some kind of seed pod we guessed, but it sure was pretty. And there just beside Robin is another mushroom. This one was broken, one side of it had been broken off before we found it, but it kind of looks like a buttercup or evening primrose to me.

This mushroom just looked rotten to me. I don't know if it really was or if it grows this way.

How pretty. Now this is a very nice improvement from the rotten mushroom. So bright and orange. 

And pretty pink ones too.

This was a flat little mushroom with a whole in the middle of it. I sure wish I had a guide book to identify mushrooms. I would never eat any of them, because I wouldn't risk thinking one was safe to eat and it not be, but I would like to know what kind they are.

There were way more mushrooms than this but I think since we found so many that it would be best if I share my mushroom adventures little by little. 

Exploring our backyard

We've had a lot of rain lately. It comes just about every afternoon and rains hard for an hour or three and sometimes mists for a while, keeping everything wet and me indoors.

After our trip to the Bayou, I have decided the woods may not be so scary after all. I survived the swamp, the mama alligator, and have, so far, survived Tillie's 'baby gator', though I do so wish she would take that thing back where she got it.

Today, with the rains stopped for now, Tillie and I decided to go for a walk and explore our new woods. We invited the big people to come with us since we don't know our way around in the woods yet, we wouldn't want to get lost, and in case we needed someone to take our picture.

This beautiful patch of moss grows right in our very own yard, not far from the big people's house. It's so soft and comfy. It would be the perfect place to have a picnic.

I found a beautiful hollow tree and couldn't resist seeing what might be inside.

I found...dark... inside that tree. 

It was very neat to see. I might just have to come back and visit this tree again sometime.

Or maybe I will come back and visit this tree again, it's hollow too. It was a nice place to rest for a while.

Tillie found this little tree and thought to rest in it. She did have a hard time sitting on that thin little stick branch.

I much prefer a more supportive tree to rest in.

While walking on a pile of logs I slipped and fell between them. I tried and tried to climb out, worrying that I would dirty my borrowed dress, but couldn't get out on my own. I finally resorted to yelling for Tillie, the best way a little wooden doll can yell, until she came.

With Tillie's help I finally managed to get out from between the logs.

I'm beginning to discover that Tillie has a bit more of an adventurous spirit than I do. She kept climbing on things she shouldn't and sitting in the most precarious places.