Some stubborn leaves still cling tight to the trees. Some are still magically vibrant, while others are muted, soft shades of winter. This week the temps have plummeted, an arrogantly executed high dive into winter. The winds followed suit. The cold snap can be seen plucking leaves from their strongholds with little effort. But the sun shines today and we'll try to keep the inklings of snow at bay, at least for today. The days are coming of firelight indoors and out, warm drinks, candle flame, and stories told in shadowed rooms. Winter is coming: the season of myth, of ancient stories, and older traditions.
[PLEASE NOTE: Anything here I've attempted to identify is an educated guess but by no means fact. I'm no expert] Bolete Mushrooms are the giants of the mycological realm, lurking in the damp woods but not at all hidden because they are, well, giant most of the time. It was Boletes that shocked me a few summers ago with their enormity - mushrooms bigger than dinner plates, some near a foot tall. I like to call the pale ones pancake mushrooms because they look and feel like pancakes to me. The great edible Porcini mushroom is a bolete but sadly doesn't grow in Missouri. This summer I have seen a great many boletes though not as giant as I have in the past. They are incredibly fun to spot - even a small bolete is a giant among the other modest mushrooms of the woods. Many are very dense and sturdy, too, which helps them last many days longer than other mushrooms. What makes a bolete unique, and a good way to identify a bolete, is it's underbelly: beneath that cap
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