The final days of 2022 were spent in the Quercus cerris forest among recently cut stumps, stalking shrooms. The days have been exceptionally sunny and warm, , only moisture, tons of humus, half-rotten but still golden leaves, and mushrooms. Still zero luck seeing some snowflakes.
We even postponed New Year's Eve and celebrated the old year in the hillier areas without fanfare.
The forest, which is surrounded by Quercus cerris and is close to my parents' home, provides shelter for a variety of animals as well as food during the colder months. I have always loved to sunbathe here, we used to gather medicinal herbs nearby, and I have vivid memories of the forest with its thick sedge rims and clear shady ambience inside.
Today it is the same, with more or less fallen trees.
The most elegant mushroom I've ever captured. An oyster mushroom basks in the December sun, lavishly perched atop a very dry and rotting away tree stump. We spent nearly two hours slithering between moss-covered trees and bumping on mushrooms in various stages of growth. Often, roe deer can be seen in the area, jumping on the plowed fields and gathering what remains of the autumn harvest. And what is most abundant where there are acorns are wild boars.
I wonder how this delicacy was missed by a wild boar, and is an acorn tastier? Because these fruitage are the biggest reason why they gather here in large numbers. What I'm most surprised by is that I don't even pick them myself, but that's why I prepared one portion for lunch, from the market.
(slap,slap)
We had a little battle about who would photograph what; I'm usually the one who lags behind and complains about not getting anything done, despite the fact that I spend at least 20 minutes around one tree stump. 🙃
Oh, almost forgot Happy Newshroom year!
Successful mushroom hunts and lots of #FungiFriday -s.