Shortcut to Mushrooms

That stuff that looks like foam is actually part of the mushroom's root system, and it's perfectly solid--actually, it's probably firmer than the rest of the mushroom. It's normally buried under the damp leaves, but I dug it out to take a look. Root systems are very diverse--I hadn't seen one like this before.

Some fungus I found in some heavily wooded, shady forest. They were surprisingly hard, although they look very soft, they were about as firm as an unripe peach.

This is not a picture of mars...it's actually a close-up of the top of the largest mushroom. ;-)

These are the mushrooms...three lovely specimens from my neighbor's yard. The rest of the photographs are these mushrooms, shot from different angles, with close-ups, etc.

Yes. I'm obsessed.

Birthday

I got the most beautiful camera for my birthday! It's a Nikon, absolutely gorgeous (as you can see), with two zoom lenses--one is quite long-rage, I just want a bird to sit still long enough for me to get a nice close-up!

The clarity of the pictures it takes is absolutely amazing. The blogger posting doesn't even do it justice. I included this picture of Ben--it picks up his beautiful blue eyes in a way no other camera does!

The picture isn't centred, that's my only problem with it.

And of course, Josiah. Once again, it focuses marvelously and picks up vibrant color and detail.

And finally, my true pride and joy: my nature photography!

This is a cicada that Ben found, actually. The detail on this is amazing. The cicada is a very beautiful, intricate insect, and the camera actually picked all of that up.

The sheen on the wings is perfect, especially how it fades from green to peach towards the end, and I love the patterns on its head and back. And of course his expressive little eyes! They remind me of a praying mantis', actually.

A rose of Sharon that has spread from the backyard to the side of the house...

And these beautiful creatures, I believe they're narrow-waisted paper wasps. You can see the uncapped larva in some of the cells. They're building a nest outside our living room window.

This is some sort of polypore shelf fungi I got a picture of today.