Mushroom Log
2008

1/12  After a week of warm weather I did some drive-by mushrooming for Oysters.  Found none.  Then I walked a short trail in Prospect Park but found only some re hydrated False Turkey Tails.

2/3 Visited the Douglas State Forest Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Trail.  The day was perfect for a walk in the woods.  We had about 1.5" of rain two days back and the temperature was about 40.  It was a bright sunny day.  I was surprised to find the trails still covered in ice and packed snow.  I had to concentrate on where I put my foot down.  No time for rubber necking for mushrooms high in the cedar trees.  I was out to see if I could find a Ballou's mushroom that Bill Neill re-discovered in 2005.  The boardwalk was so icy I was afraid of falling off into the swamp if I leaned my head back too far and became dizzy. 
It was quite a bit colder in the swamp.  My GPS batteries died after only about half an hour, so I lost all my data such as waypoints.  The camera turned on in a hesitating manner.
I did not see any of the mushrooms that Bill Neill saw a week earlier.  I did see something that appeared strange to me.  There was a cedar that had some mossy looking thing growing out of the bark that looked like Reindeer Lichen to me.  Take a look at the pictures.

3/20  I received a message through my web site from Matt D in Leominster MA.  He is a mushroom enthusiast.  We exchanged several messages and I found out that he knows Bill N and Larry M, the polypore gurus.  It turns out that Matt has a woodpile on which is growing an unusual polypore that Bill N was not able to identify.  According to Matt, Bill N is bringing Larry, sometime in April, to see if he ever saw anything like it.  That made me think of the one log that I have in my back yard.  On it is growing a small polypore that appears to come to life after every rain.  It could be just a common polypore.  They all look the same to me.  Take a look at the pictures and see if you recognize it.  If you do, let me know?

3/29  In the month of February, Shrewsbury received over 7" of rain.  In March we have had 4.9" so far.  Now if only April would be as wet, we would be all set for a good crop of mushrooms this spring.
It is still cold.  At night the temperatures fall below freezing.  Most of the snow has melted.  The lakes and ponds are free of ice.  Soon!

4/17  Explored a Shrewsbury town parcel which has an unusually large amount of White Ash trees downed.  It looks like a fungi playground.  Have to see check this place after a good rain and see what kind of fruiting bodies it will produce.

4/28  Finally the temperatures came up during the day and the freezes stopped at night but we have not had any rain in the past two weeks or so.  So far we have had only 1.53" of rain, this month.  The only finds reported were by Russ C.  he found a few False Morels in Eastern MA and on the Connecticut River.
Today we are having light rain,  maybe after this rain, the season starts?

4/30  We wound up with 3.33" of rain for the month in Shrewsbury.  Today was sunny but cool.  Tonight they are predicting frost.
I went to Acton and Bolton.  Places where I have picked Morel as early as May 1, in the past.  The morel indicators are out.  The Bloodroot has finished blooming.  The May Apples are a foot high.  No sign of Morel.  It is just too cold. 

5/3  Today the first True Morel was found by Jerry G in Dudley.

5/5 Today I found my first fungi of the season.  Several hundred Mica Caps growing around a stump and a double Dryad's Saddle growing off a maple log.  I plan to go up to this Mica patch tomorrow and bring frying equipment with me.  Bill R praised the taste of this mushroom.  I want to try it and see if it appeals to my taste buds.  Pictures.

5/6 "The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry."   Went up there with my cooking supplies and equipment but the mushrooms dried up overnight!  I am leaving the equipment in the trunk of my car.

5/9  Morel finally!!  Went to Acton and found 23 Yellow Morel under one, or three, trees.  There was an old (dead?) apple tree with a small White Ash and even a small live Elm in that area.  See the 2 page picture story.

5/10  Went and buried the trimmings and seed morel by a healthy (appearing) 18" diameter American Elm in Westboro.  At the same site I checked the apple tree stumps that produce Giant Morel.  Found One damaged (#24) Morel and a dead one beside it.  There are more slugs than mushrooms so they are doing the damage.  Also found some young Mica Caps but not enough to bother picking.  Nice young Oyster Mushrooms on a fallen Aspen Tree.  Found a bird nest in the open and close to the ground.  Found it unusual in that it was reinforced with mud and it appeared to be the handiworks of a Robin.  That is the bird that scolded me as I was snapping pictures.  Never saw a Robin use mud to reinforce the nest, before.  A Robin that has a mind of its own???  See 3 pages of pictures.

5/11 Berkshire Morel Hunt did not yield many Morel.  There were only 2 young Morel found and those were by one of the founders of the BMS.  There were some Morel brought in to the foray so that new people were able to see what a Yellow Morel, Black Morel and Half-free Morel looked like.  I was finally able to see a Devil's Urn for the first time.  It was rather old and in bad shape, like me :o)  They said they found Scarlet Cup a week earlier.  None were found this day.  The best part was talking to the regulars after the foray.  Even Jim was friendlier than I remember him.
The most unusual thing at this foray was seeing these great piles of black feces all over the forest.  Later I found out they were produced by Black Bear!  Those were healthy piles of shit!  I wonder what they were feeding on ??  I hope it was not mushroom hunters!  Pictures

5/13  Went back to the Westboro Farm and checked the Robin's nest.  She was home.  After a while she left the nest.  I took a picture of the inside of the nest.  See the updated page.  No scolding this time.  That is good since she would attract the Jays.  I then checked the Oysters that I discovered last time.  They did not grow much in 3 days and looked a bit dried out so I harvested them.  I want a picture of the spores so I can compare it to Oysters on a maple if I ever find them.  The single Morel by the apple tree also did not grow in the three days.  It looked like a fungus was attacking the stem so I harvested it for spores also.  I also found a clump of light brown cups.  I am trying for a spore print so that I can ID them.  See pictures.

5/17  Went back to the Westboro Farm and checked the Robin's nest.  There are 2 eggs in the nest now.  I found a single LMB near the nest but being in a hurry to get away from the nest I dropped it.
The brown cups are still coming up by the apple stumps.  I did find another large Morel by the same apple stump as before (#25).  No sign of the cup or the Morel releasing spored, six hours after picking them. 

5/25  Plenty of rain on the Cape but rather cool and windy.  Took a Russian lady along to check Provincetown, Truro and Wellfleet.  Nothing!

5/31 It was a dry month in Central Massachusetts.  A little over an inch of rain for the month.  Mushrooms are rare.

6/7  We have had light rain for about 4 days for a total of less than .5 inches.  The temperatures were in the 60's for the most part.  Today it was sunny muggy and hot.  It reached 91 degrees.  The weatherman is promising more of the same for 3 more days.  Today I went to Grafton to see if fungi responded to the 4 days of wet weather.  All I found is some LBM's and what looks like a small Cort but no sign of a cortina.  See pictures.

6/13  After hearing that Ganoderma tsugae was found in Vermont, I went out to the bog in Oxford and checked the hemlock snags where we found a few bags of them last year, with Jerry.  I found a total of 7 small once.  I was surprised that I did not find any other mushrooms even in the wet areas.  The weathermen are promising some rain in the next 4 days.  Maybe then the mushroom season will go into high gear?

6/24  Finally some appreciable rain!  Shrewsbury got 1.1" while Worcester got about 3", in the past 24 hours.  This morning I went to a place in Northboro.  First two mushrooms I saw looked like some Waxy Caps, to me.  Then I saw, several, what looked like a small Platterful but the spores turned out to be 6 sided so it is an Entoloma of some kind?  Some other interesting mushrooms, for the mind instead of the stomach.  Take a look at the 6 pages of pictures.

6/26  Went back to check on that baby polypore to see what it developed into.  Bill Neill guessed that it might be the Elegant Polypore - Polyporus varius, because he thought he saw some black color appearing at the bottom of the stem.  He apparently can see into the future :o)  There is brown and black color now at the bottom of the stem.  Also I found small group of interesting LBMs.  Take a look at 2 pages of pictures.

6/27  Today I stopped by the house on South Quinsigamond Ave., in Shrewsbury, to check if any mushrooms were popping up.  There I found my first of the year Hygrophorus Milky.  There were a few rosy Russulas and several types of Amanitas.  See the 2 pages of pictures here. Then I went to Grafton.  I found 5 Bicolor Bolete, 3 of those were young and in prime condition for eating.  Also found several Sweetbread Mushrooms - Clitopilus prunulus but not enough to bother collecting for food.  Some tiny Lactarius that look like Candy Caps but do not smell right.  Also photographed some interesting looking mushrooms.  Take a look at the 3 pages of pictures.

6/28  Went to check on the Elegant Polypore.  Sure enough, the stem was black on all 3 of them.  The cap looks like it was not going to change much anymore.  Besides that the slugs were eating them fast.  I picked two for a spore print.  The pores under the cap are very small and I have no spore print after 5 hours.  I will leave it overnight. 
It was a foggy morning with little light so the camera had problems focusing properly.  When I focused on the mushroom elevation the camera thought I wanted to take a picture of the trees in the background :o)  I got clear pictures of the pores and top of cap.  This is the second place where I noticed wild May Apple plants.  Looks like this is the year of May Apples and Sarsaparilla! The pictures are here.

6/29  I went to Northbridge today. I went to a place that Jerry showed me. He said he found tons of Bicolor Bolete at the site. Of course, when we went, not a one was to be found. I track thunder storms by using the radar map that the Weather Channel site provides. About a week ago I noticed a large thunderstorm go through that area. Today I decide to check it for Bicolor Bolete. What I found is the  bolete that Marty and Jerry call Kings. Most of them were wormy but there were so many of them that I got tired of taking pictures of them :o) A rough estimate is that I found 75 of them. They were growing in White Pine groves. They reminded me of Boletus separans so the first thing I did is to test a few with KOH. No reaction so they are not separans! They look like Kings to me. Nice white reticulation on the stem. I put up a couple of caps for spore print. Take a look at the the 6 pages of pictures from today's foray.

6/30  Today I went out and gave a burial to the dead and wormy Kings that I collected yesterday.  About a week ago I discovered a new trail that the town of Northboro put in.  This trail goes through a small grove of Balsam Fir and White Spruce.  I read that fir and spruce are two of the favorite trees of the King Bolete.  So these Kings must think that they died and gone to heaven :o)  While there I photographed that last remaining Elegant Polypore.  It has not changed much.
On the way home I came by the way of Maple Street in Shrewsbury.  I noticed that the stump that produced Ganoderma curtisii, last year, is at it again.  There are 4 new buds.

In the afternoon I did not feel tired so I decide to check the Hemlock woods in Oxford. It looked like there was some recent rainfall there.  First thing I saw was some "brown" cups on the trail.  I was surprised to see them this time of the year.  Then I found a rotten stump with a mess of tiny mushrooms growing on it.  They were about 1/4" and smaller.  The surprise of the day was finding what looks like a scaber stalk mushrooms which was pink all over.  I never saw anything like this before.  Could not find anything similar in the NA Boletes.  I gave it the full treatment.  Maybe someone will recognize it??  Take a look at the two pages  of pictures.

7/1  Today I planed to go back to Northbridge.  On the way I stopped by the house on S. Quinsigamond Ave. to see what new popped up.  This time the owner of the property caught me :o)  "What are you doing there??"  I explained and told him that he has the best mushroom yard of anyone in town.  I asked for permission to photograph his mushrooms and take some samples.  He said OK.  He had a few more of the Distant Gilled Milkys and I explained that they are choice edibles.  I started having an insulin reaction so I postponed my trip to Northbridge.  Take a look at the neighbor's mushrooms.

7/1  We have been getting thunderstorms lately.  Yesterday we got 3/4" of nitrogen rich rain.  The mushrooms love this!  Where I live, in an elderly housing apartment, the Amanitas are popping up in the yard every day.  A tenant neighbor approached me and said, "Did you see that large mushroom in the front yard?"  This man new little about mushrooms so I assumed he found a large Amanita.  My apartment is on the first floor and exist to the back yard.  I seldom go to the front yard and the main entrance.  I waited till the rain passed and went to check the front yard for mushrooms.  Sure enough, there was a large bolete growing right against the handicap parking sign.  A large oak was nearby.  I found two other small once also.  See the pictures.

7/2  My plans to go back to Northbridge again were interrupted when Jerry gave detailed information as to where he found his Kings in Oxford.  While the Kings are popping up all over, I wanted to see as many different places as I can where they can be found.  I would like to re visit these places in the fall and see if they again will produce Kings, and if so, will they be different from those we are finding now?  It was a foggy damp morning in Oxford.  I was soaked in no time at all.  The first bolete I found was in prime shape but unfortunately it was the Bitter Bolete.  I tasted it!  Then I saw what at first glance looked like the Gypsy (Rozites caperata).  I figured what the hell, if the Kings can not wait till the fall, maybe the Gypsies do not want to wait also.  It is one of my favorite mushrooms to eat but up to now I found it only on the Cape.  As soon as I looked at the stem I knew it was something else.  There was no ring on the stem and the stem was the wrong color.  Eventually I found the spot with the Kings.  I saw about 2 dozen and found 13 which were worm free.  I found a few mushrooms unknown to me.  Take a look at the 4 pages of pictures.

7/2  The yard, where I live, is sprouting some Hygrophorus Milkys and this colorful little bolete whatever it it.

7/4  This morning Jerry took me to a place where he found Kings previously. We did a lot of walking in foggy drizzly weather. I swear we walked to hell and back :o) Lots of interesting mushrooms but only 4 small Kings which Jerry spotted. First thing I did when I got home is have an early lunch and a 2 hour nap. Then I went out and photographed some of the interesting mushrooms we found. Thank God it stopped raining. I should bite my tongue! I put up a mess off mushrooms for spore prints. Now to edit the pictures. I will take off tomorrow to process the mushrooms we found.
I hate to admit it but I am developing a liking for non-edible mushrooms. Hear that George? Just call me George II :o) There is that expected feeling of discovering something I never saw before. We spotted 3 kinds of slime mold, the Dog Vomit Slime and 2 unknowns. The Bitter Bolete was everywhere.
This spot looked like it has not got much rain before last night and today. I think it is worth re visiting in about 5 days. Take a look at 7 pages of pictures.

7/5  After processing yesterdays pictures I decide to check around my apartment building.  The mushrooms are everywhere!!!  First I found what I thought was a group of Xanthoconium affine but the ammonia test showed that they are Xanthoconium purpureum.  A hallo of green forms around the drop of ammonia then slowly fades away.  This works only on fresh mushrooms.  Next I checked around oak trees in the yard for Boletus variapiis.  Found 5 small once by another large oak that has its roots under wood chips next to the foundation, so I was able to get out the whole mushroom without the snap-crack.  Will put up the pictures later.  I checked the spot that produces what Bill Neill tentatively identified as Boletus pseudosensibilis.  Found 4 young specimens.  I want to gather more data on it so that we can nail down the ID.  I did an ammonia test on it and the cap turned light lime green. NA Boletes states that is should be "blue" for the pseudosensibilis. Here I made up a few pages with pictures and information about this mushroom. The stem and pores turns blue when touched.  Cutting the stem or cap produces no staining. Put out caps for a spore print.  Also found a couple of Red Chanterelle and what I believe is the same specie of Collybia that had that Collybia Jelly growing on it, in Boylston.  See pictures.

7/6  Went out to check on Jerry's spot in Oxford MA.  He said that he left some Chanterelles for me.  He even provided GPS coordinates as to where to find them.  He might have made a mistake typing the coordinates or one of our GPS is not working properly.  Those coordinates were not for the area stated.  I found about 10 more Kings but most were too old to use.  They were either wormy or in the process of liquefying.  One was young and firm.
Found a few other kind of bolete including 4 Gilled Bolete.  Some look like Xanthoconium species.

7/7  I took a break in processing the mushrooms, I found yesterday, and went out to check the yard and the spot at Jordan Pond where I find the Peach Top Bolete.  I want to pick more specimens and study them.  Found a Boletus variapiis (75% sure) under a third oak, in the yard.  It got from invisible to 6" cap in 48 hours!!  There are two in the button stage.  I was surprised that it was not touched by worms.  It looks like some critter tasted a few pieces out of the top.  There were three more under the second oak, next to the foundation, but they looked deformed and wormy so I left them for the critters.  There were no new Peach Tops.  On the way back I went by a different route, by a fence that separates the school yard from the woods.  There I spotted a bolete that fits my fantasy as to how a King should look!!  Take a look at the pictures.

7/8  Today I went to Rutland.  This is a site that Jerry told me about, about 4 years ago.  He has found Kings on this site in the past.  I have found many Bicolor Bolete and Lobster Mushrooms here, in the past.  I did not find any of these desirable edibles but I found two mushrooms that I have never seen before.  Also I found the largest, ever, Bitter Bolete which was not bitter.  I read up on the Mushroom Expert that Tylopilus indecisus does not have a club stalk.  This one definitely is Tylopilus felleus, then.  I cut off half the cap, removed the pores, diced it up and boiled it.  later I tasted a couple of pieces.  Not bitter.  Still later I ate 2 more pieces.  After about 1/2 hour I sensed a very slight bitter after taste in my mouth.  It was hardly noticeable.  I now wonder if the bitter bolete is not bitter if it grows under certain conditions.  Say plenty of rain and in the shade?  Take a look at the "Brain" and the "Beauty", and tell me if you ever saw these mushrooms and what they are called.

7/9  Took it easy today and only checked the yard where I live.  Found one mature Boletus variapiis and a bunch of Hygrophorus Milkys.  Plan to test these on Victor :o)

7/10  Heard from Bill Yule, aka Bolete Bill, today and he identified the "Brain" and provided an alternate name for the bolete that Bill Neill identified as B. badius.  I updated my web pages.  Later in the day I checked the neighbor's yard.  Found one small, perfectly shaped Boletus variapiis and several that were under attack by some other fungus.  I then went to Grafton where I find a good amount of boletes.  Found one B. sensibilis, one X. separans, several Xanthoconium affinis and several Xanthoconium purpureum.  Also found a group of stout stem bolete that appear to be some specie of Tylopilus.  The pores stained brown when handled.  The pores were white.  Will update with an ID when I get a spore print, study the spores and track it down in NA Boletes.  The rain stopped coming down at regular basis, the air is dry, and the mushroom avalanche stopped.

7/12  Went to Northboro today to check on the Lobster Mushroom patch.  Found one in prime condition.  Then went to another site and found a mess of Hygrophorus Milky.  Also found enough Bicolor Bolete for a mushroom fry.  I am always on the lookout to find the deadly Amanita.  It is the case of "know thy enemy".  I spotted one that might be the Death Cap aka Amanita phalloides.  The cap was sticky after being under cup for spore print purposes.  Take a look at the pictures.

7/21  Finally we got some rain from a few thundershowers.  Went out to Paxton.  Near a pond there were quiet a few Russulas.  I found a few Gilled Bolete and some polypore and Lactarius.  One large Russula attracted my attention.  Like some other mushrooms, it appeared to have ripped itself apart due to lack of moisture.  The surprise came when I turned it over.  It looked like it went crazy in the heat :o)  Heat stroke??  It lost its ability to tell the difference between up and down.  It started growing caps on the gills.

7/25  Today it was sunny after after about 2" of rain in the past two days.  I went and checked on a pile of wood chips in Grafton but did find any Wine Caps or any other mushroom growing on the chips.  Went to another site in Grafton but found very few mushrooms.  I did find a mushroom that looked like the large one I found in Paxton with the caps growing on the gills.  This one also had a tear in the cap and a beginning of a cap on the gills at the tear.  I tentatively identified the mushroom  as Russula compacta.  I also found something I have not seen before, mushrooms growing on what looked like a liquefied Russula or Lactarius.

7/26  Went back to the site to try to get some caps from the Nyctalis asterophora that Noah S. identified.  The mushroom clump was dryer today and I managed to pick 4 caps.  I first tried to get a spore print rather than trying to get the spores off the top of the caps.  The caps did not deposit enough spores for a spore print but there were enough to get some good spore pictures.  I was surprised that they were so large considering that the largest cap was about 1" diameter.  This was the horniest spores I ever saw :o)  Also took a picture of gossamer stemmed mushrooms growing on horse shit, of all things.  Take a look at the two pages of pictures.

7/28  Went to Pisgah Woods and checked on the Black Birch from which I harvested my first large Chaga on 2/31/06.  Sometime during the past two years a substantial Chaga grew again.  I again harvested about 5 pounds of Chaga. The tree does not appear to be dying, more than two years after the first Chaga harvest.  Even though we have had over 2" of rain in the past week, the mushrooms are scarce.  Saw many Russula compacta and a few Lactarius corrugis. 

8/1  Today I started on the quest for the fruiting body of Inonotus obliquus.  I went to Pisgah Woods in Northboro and checked Yellow and Black birch along a small brook.  There are many trees damaged by Nectria galligena and also infected by Inonotus obliquus.  I found one polypore which was growing around where a Chaga used to be,  It even looked like it had oblique pores but it did not fit the bill otherwise.  I have no idea what it is.  Check the pictures.

8/3  Today I went to Grafton to check out a fallen Yellow Birch.  I would estimate the birch was blown over by wind about 3 years ago.  This is the tree where I found enough Chaga to make my first Chaga tea.  On the way I found a few Pale Bolete, some unknown baby brown bolete, Sweet Tooth, and some other large bolete.  When I got to the fallen birch I decided to check it out from the bottom to the top.  In the three years it has rotted quite a bit.  In three more years there will be no bark left.  So the information that the tree has to be dead about 6 years before it produces a fruiting body can not be right, since there would be no bark for the fruiting body to crack.  I now wonder how much of the information about the fruiting body is fact.  I took pictures of every fungus I found growing on the tree and even branches.  Take a look at the pictures.

8/5  Found some Bicolor Bolete in the back yard.  Went to Northboro and found more.  Young once, just coming up.  The critters who are wild mushroom connoisseurs,  were out in force.  Most of the mushrooms were chewed up by the critters.  Also found enough Smooth Chanterelle to donate to some Russian friends.  I am sure they will enjoy them more than I would.  The most common mushroom was the Pale Bolete.  Also saw quiet a few Frost's Bolete, Xanthoconium separans,  and Chestnut Bolete.  There were a few interesting mushrooms.

8/6  Between passing thunderstorms I went about 10' into the backyard woods and saw this brilliant colored mushroom.

8/7  Today I went to Sutton and checked the dairy farmer's corn for corn smut.  The ears of corn appear to be not filled out yet.  Checked the nearby Tsugae Woods.  There were quiet a few Painted Bolete and a colorful Puffball-in-aspic - Calostoma cinnabarina.  Overall few mushrooms in that area.  Looked a bit dry.  There was more rain in the Shrewsbury area so I went out to check my back yard when I got home.  Found about half a bag of mushrooms.  Discovered a new patch of Red Chanterelle.  Found a small Beefstake Polypore - Fistulina hepatica, all kinds of Bolete, and a very large Scaly Tooth.  In the afternoon a violent thunderstorm, with hail, went through and dumped over an inch of rain.  Other thunderstorms came through later.  We have had 2.66" of nitrogen infused rain so far this past week.  The Red Chanterelle should grow even larger than the record 3" caps that I picked so far.  Pictures.

8/8  Went out and checked on the Ganoderma curtisii on Maple St.  Three new fruiting bodies are developing after I removed the previous once.  Was surprised to see a new crop of Bicolor Boletes popping out, nearby, under oak.  Picked a couple of quarts.  Cleaned and boiled them.  This gave me an idea of starting a new section which will show what the mushrooms look like after boiling.  I think it can be a tool in the identification process.

8/10  Went to a Grafton site with Brian, a member of NE Mushroom Hunters.  Found many different Bolete, including Xanthoconium specie and Parasitic Bolete.  Also an unusual looking coral.

8/13  It has been raining the last two days so I did not go out.  Today the rain took a break and I went out to the Grafton site again.  I wanted to check that fallen birch for any signs of the Inonotus obliquus fruiting body.  On the way I saw countless old Bicolor Bolete.  I checked the younger once.  Most of them were wormy.  I noticed tiny, hardly visible, flies on the pores.  The largest Bicolor had caps of about 10" in diameter.  Also noticed something unusual.  The caps had very little flesh as compared to a normal Bicolor Bolete.  I picked a couple of the Pigskin Puffballs which had Parasitic Bolete attached.  I want to see if the boletes will continue to grow if I keep the stem of the puffballs in water.

8/14  Noticed nice looking Bicolor looking mushrooms in a yard.  These turned dark blue very fast.  I boiled one cap and tried it.  It tasted very much like a Bicolor.  In the young the flesh was firm and worm free.  Take a look at the pictures.

8/16  Started the day by checking for mushrooms around the apartment building.  Under a large oak on the lawn found a half dozen Boletus speciosus var. brunneus.  See pictures for 8/14.  That scientific name is a mouth full.  A common name would be useful.  It finally dawned on me what that dark caped mushroom I have been finding everywhere/  It is the Black Velvet Bolete.  I picked about a dozen of them today by Jordan pond.  Also found a few Ornate Stalk Bolete and one that I have never seen before - a Crested Polypore.  Pictures.

8/19/08  It has not rained for a couple of days and the ground is getting dry.  The boletes are slowing down their reproduction.  I decided to go to Pisgah Woods and check on the dead and dieing birch for the elusive fruiting body.  Did not find anything that looked like the Inonotus obliquus fruiting body but did find a whole bunch of interesting mushrooms and critters.  Here are mushrooms growing on horse shit.  Now I know how the movable ring forms on a Parasol Mushroom.  I put up a cap for overnight spore print and in the morning it was black and dissolving.  I then knew it was am Inky Cap of some sort.  I found a picture in Lincoff and checked the descriptions for Bell-cap Panaeolus.  It was a fit!  Then I found an Old Man of the Woods that looked different.  It had a lighter cap with spikes only in the center.  Later I found a normal looking Old Man of the Woods.  I brought both caps home and obtained spore prints.  Here I show how to distinguish between the two specie of Old Man of the woods.  Here are two pages of other mushrooms.
In looking beneath the bark of dead birch I found a few interesting critters and fungi.

Mushrooming Log 2007
Mushrooming Log 2006
Mushrooming Log 2005
Mushrooming Log 2004