Day 342: For all of the fact that my scientific friends regard me as a keen observer, I am usually quite oblivious to my surroundings insofar as other human beings are concerned. Thus it was that I surprised a man walking his dog in Yelm's Cochrane Park with a loud exclamation of my favourite scientific phrase, "What the hell is that?" In the next instant, I was on my knees in the wet grass, camera focused in on the healthiest of a dozen specimens of a thin-fleshed translucent mushroom shaped rather like our friend Myriosclerotinia. I soon discovered a few deteriorating examples which gave me a clue to the identity. If not a Coprinus (Inky Cap), at least they were related. Examining the area more closely revealed more with flatter caps; the upturned rim appeared to be a function of age. Man and dog joined me. "They're beautiful, aren't they?" he said. "Yes," I replied, "and I haven't ever seen them before." We talked for a while, but his curiosity seemed to end at identifying them as a "mushroom" as opposed to something else (what, I can't imagine). As soon as I got home, I hit the books and Google. Edit: my initial identification was in error. This is either Coprinopsis lagopus or C. lagopides, the latter being the most likely to occur in this area.
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