Orange mushroom
We've had a bit more rain recently, so the earth is pushing up crop after crop of mushrooms. This is both a blessing and a curse. I love to find and photograph fungi, which come in all kinds of intriguing shapes, sizes, and colors. But I don't yet know my mushrooms, and my ignorance is annoying. This orange one, for example, may be a Jack O'Lantern. It's not edible—in fact, it's quite poisonous—but it's also fascinating, since it's bioluminescent. The eerie green glow that its gills emit would be a sure-fire key to its identity, but I've been so busy trying to finish up work and get ready for our trip to Indiana that I basically snapped a picture of a pretty mushroom then quickly left the woods. I should have brought it home to see if it made its own light and photographed that. Being scattered and over-busy made for a missed opportunity. Maybe, when I get home, I'll get another chance.