Nature Walk #2 10/6/21
Today I went on a walk to Houghton Gardens in the mid-afternoon, and it was a very serene experience on a sunny day! I was able to find many different types of fungi, and some that I have never seen before. Although most of the fungi I found was in the form of mushrooms, there was a very large variety of the types of mushrooms that grow in this small area. While I was finding all of these different mushrooms, I was wondering if any of their colors serve as warnings, as some poisonous animal species display to avoid being eaten. There was also a very strange looking grey growth on a tree that is likely Wolf's Milk, which apparently is often mistaken for fungi, but is really a slime growth on damp bark. Some of the mushrooms also looked like they had been eaten by the animals at the gardens, and it made me wonder whether these species might have a better sense of poisonous versus safe mushrooms, especially if it constitutes a large portion of their food source. The walk was overall a very relaxing time, and I was glad to immerse myself in nature this week!