Kozmic Dreams Photography of Fungi and Lichens

My Digital Photography of Fungi and Lichens

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Ear Fungus Log Grows Filamentous Friends

I kept a birch log my dad gave me for over a year. It had some interesting shelf fungus on it and it looked nice in my toad terrarium. I dismantled my terrarium so it could be used by my tortoises instead of the toads. This left me with no place to put the piece of wood, so I had to set it in the backyard. I noticed a strange new fungus growing. At the base, it looked like bristly hairs, but near the middle, it was covered in a transparent membrane. Much of the membrane seemed to be covered in spores. Some of my photographs didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but I didn't have much time on this day. These photos were taken November 6, 2006.

Photos of various fungi from my trip to the Croatan National Forest in NC in November 2006

Photos of various fungi from my trip to the Saugatuck Dunes in MI on October 14, 2006

Reliving the Past

On September 26, 2006, my dad and grandma found this Giant Puffball in a Michigan woods while searching for edible mushrooms. It had been 27 years since we'd found anything near the size of the one we found in 1979 (the following story). It was 38 inches in circumference (the long way around). My parents have developed a taste for these things and my mom sautées them up every time they find one. Since they also had some other smaller ones to eat (and they don't stay fresh for too long), they let me keep this big one. Also shown is the inside of another puff-ball (last 2 pictures). It kind of looks like cream cheese or cheese cake.

The Most Amazing Puffball Ever!

This is a truly spectacular puffball specimen. My parents and I found it in a Michigan woods in 1979. This picture shows me at 4 years old holding it. Unfortunately, my dad busted it up before my mom and I could stop him. This could have been a museum piece---I've never seen any others of this magnitude again. Click the links below to read more about puffballs.

More Puffball Information

The Trees Have Ears!

Pictured below is a log that my dad and uncle found in a woods in Interlochen, MI in late September, 2005. It was longer, but they sawed it down to a smaller size for easier transport. My dad took it back home to the Metro-Detroit area to show me. Of course, I had to photograph it. What was so special about this birch log was that it contained two specimens of an unknown fungus, one of which resembled an ear coming out from the bark. The other probably looked like this at one time, but it had shriveled up. The log also contained some beautiful lichens on its surface, which I also photographed. I was even lucky enough to capture a red spider mite in action.

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