Frost’s Bolete (Boletus frostii). I was thrilled with this find. The amber drops on the pore surface are characteristic of a young B. frostii.

I’ve spent three late afternoons outside exploring my woods, and it’s had an amazingly restorative effect on me.  I think I haven’t been playing enough lately!

The gorgeous true-red cap of the Frost’s Bolete.

I was particularly thrilled to find a Frost’s Bolete — because on my mushroom board, neither the resident expert nor the administrator has ever found one.  I have seen others in past years on the back of our property, so I didn’t figure they were that rare.

I am so very blessed to be able to feel awestruck wonder at so many aspects of the natural world.

I’ll just share the pictures, and hope that some of the magic comes through to you, too.  🙂

Pokeweed flowers with baby berries

Ripening fig

Rose hip

A 4 o’clock flower with a big seed. When we were kids we used to collect the seeds and go around and try to sell them to the neighbors. We never had a lot of luck. Could be that our grimy little hands weren’t the most market-wise packaging. 😀

A young Cortinarius iodes from the bottom. Only the small purple cap was sticking out. The rest was buried in a decomposing stick.

A mature cortinarius cap

No wonder the tasteless Indian strawberries are crowding out the sweet wild strawberries. They fruit all season and produce countless seeds.

Tender, edible greenbrier shoots are still available this late in the year.

A small suillus

Late figs on the way!

Not all trees are friendly. I think this is a wild hawthorne.

Red russulas, I think. I didn’t bother to seriously try to identify them. I just liked their color! 🙂

Late afternoon sun dappled florest floor