Our Extraordinary Fungi Study - Turkey Tail

We wrapped up our month-long mushroom, moss, and lichen study with a final hike last Friday. Guess what? We saw the first really nice mushroom of the month! I had pretty much given up hope that we would see any actual mushrooms and was resigned to completing our study in a future month when a specimen presented itself.

Well, we were able to complete the month with a great observation session of this big guy! I love the texture of the cap and the size was amazing...about six inches across. There were several smaller mushrooms nearby but we focused on the creamy brownish one.

I created a two page journal entry with March's grid study (cut apart) and some photos of lichen, the mushroom, and a glorious fungus we found a couple of weeks ago. I love the bands of color and the way it looks like a colorful skirt...natural beauty is hard to beat.

I decided that this would be my Extraordinary in the Ordinary subject for the last challenge of March. Turns out...this was a really good choice.

Doing research about this fungus, which we identified as Turkey Tail, we learned it was being used in treating cancer patients. Who would have thought? There are amazing things to learn all the time when you really dig a little deeper.

Mushrooms, lichen, and moss were a fantastic focus for all of us....if you read the entries in the latest blog carnival I'm sure you realized that too. Looking forward to what April is going to bring with reptiles and amphibians.