There are two trails which run parallel. We took the other one for a change, the one by the rough grass. I was watching Memphis, but Tuffy P. spotted something in the grass. “Mushrooms”.
Shaggy Mane
And so I was incorrect a while back when I published what I claimed was the last mushroom post of the year. Tuffy pointed to these bullet-shaped mushrooms poking out of the grass. They turned out to be Shaggy Manes. Even on the youngest ones, the gills had turned brown. My brother tells me that for edibility, you want to pick them while the gills are still white. There were some in the grass that had already started the curious process of self-digestion, turning the fruiting bodies into black ink. Even though we may have missed these mushrooms in their prime, Tuffy has discovered a “spot”, a place where these mushrooms will fruit again, possibly again this week or this season, but certainly again next fall – so we’ll be sure to look there for them. Finding spots is bread and butter for the mushroom hunter. As fun as it is to pick a forest and wander about to see what there is to see, if you want to forage for mushrooms for dinner, it’s good to have specific places to go. I know a few of these places now, where I can target certain species at the right time of year.
Hiding in the grass
The mushrooms are perfectly visible in the grass and leaves, and yet hard to see because of the variety of shapes and colours on the ground. When Tuffy saw these, at first I didn’t see them where she pointed, but once them became visible, I could see there was a significant patch of them in the immediate area.
27th Street 
Nice find. I saw a nice display of shaggy manes today at the mycological society’s annual show. I sure would like to find some in the wild.
Yeah- the whole brave thing is what I would say!!
“Spots” are indeed the name of the game. I am impressed that Tuffy points mushrooms.
I so wish I could take one of these walks with you and the dogs. I do it vicariously, however. That is why I urged you earlier to continue to take the camera along.
mmmmmmmmmmmm…..mushroom omellette
I still think that you are brave to trust yourself to identify these mushrooms correctly.
The way I look at it is that identifying mushrooms is something you can learn with some time and patience. I won’t eat any mushroom I can’t identify with 100% confidence. If I’m even a little unsure, I’ll take some photos and make some notes but I won’t cook it up. Most of the ones I do pick are fairly easy to identify.