The eyes opened

Giant puffball- Calvatia Gigantea

 My eyes started to spot 'things' in the most unsuspected places. I started to look carefully everywhere. As summer turned into fall, and although the weather stayed warm for so long, the low vegetation started to thin. That's when I discovered more fungi. I was afraid of ticks so I wore socks and tucked the pants in them and kept checking for those unwanted bugs climbing on my legs. I ventured beyond the paths, pushing thorns away. One day I saw something that looked like an abandoned volleyball, and when I came close to it, I couldn't believe my eyes! There was another giant fungus -photo above. It measured 33cms. As the fungus matures, the skin cracks so the  yellowish-green spores can be spread by rain and wind.  I fell in love with all the fungi I found so I visited them several times during these five months of wonderful fun-fungi adventure. The giant puffball is now half size. I helped a bit to spread the spores one day and, I am not sure if that was wrong because I was ill for two weeks with pain in my chest. Perhaps I inhaled some spores.

I saw some white bodies that didn't look like fungus at all. I was puzzle by them until I learned that it was a fungus possibly parasitized  by another one. Its name is Aborted Entoloma. Sometimes few healthy mushrooms show up next to the deformed ones. This beauty grows around beech trees.

Aborted Entoloma