Image #175 – Hearty Mushrooms

Mushrooms are generally thought of as delicate and fleshy, two traits that do not seem to suggest a wintery existence. But these two little fellows have poked their heads up through the stones near the koi pond in my neighbor’s yard. The taller of the two is about the same length as my house key, or about two inches. We have had cold weather here, with temperatures in the teens for consecutive nights. But these troopers seem to relish it.  Similarly the lichen and many of the mosses have pushed forth with tremendous growth during these early weeks of winter.

Sorry I can’t provide an identification at this time.  Perhaps a reader can contribute that information. ❧