Autumn is fall color season and mushroom season as well. This Amanita muscaria has that warm glow that signifies the end of summer and the hues of the cycle of life.
I’ve yet to find one of the bright red of this species but orange will do, don’t you think?
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
What a wonderful shot of these twoo “amanitas”
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Thanks, Rudi!
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Orange does ‘do’ very, very well! These look so sweet and I absolutely love the shot. You probably follow Thomas Whelan I imagine, he put up orange fungi today too! I’m very keen on orange. https://tomwhelan.wordpress.com/2021/10/22/orange/
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They may look sweet but the result of eating one would not be.
Yes, I know Tom. I met him on a photography website forum many years ago and we have met up a few times. He lives 75 miles or so from here. We both photograph the same sort of subjects but differently.
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That’s nice to hear.. I enjoy both of your blogs very much!
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This mushroom gives people’s brains a warm—or more than warm—glow, too.
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Fevers will do that.
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That’s a perfect Amanita and a beautiful image. I’ve been on the lookout for nice ones like this, with little luck until a huge orange mushroom appeared at the base of an oak in my yard.
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Thanks, Tom. These were also in my yard. Mostly I get the subspecies that is more yellow than orange. A. muscaria v. formosa, I think. Having these show up was a surprise and a treat.
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Orange will do fine. I’ve been looking for a red mushroom too. I’ve seen thousands while looking this years, but no reds and no oranges.
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It’s been a banner year for mushrooms here too, Susan. We’ve had a warmer than usual few days here and there so I am hopeful for some more. Good luck in your search.
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What a beautiful mushroom you discovered in your woods, Steve. I wonder if it is edible?
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It is not, Peter. Well, one could eat almost anything but as I mentioned to someone on Facebook when asked if it is a magic mushroom, the magic it provides allows one to see God…in the first person. It is highly toxic. It is an Amanita muscaria and that genus, for the most part, is fairly toxic and a few definitely will cause a fatality if eaten.
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Thanks for the info, Steve! I would never eat a mushroom unless I can identify it as 100% edible.
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You can rely on pretty much any Amanita as being inedible and life threatening.
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That is such a wonderful cheery image this fabulous fungi, Steve. I really like the portait view, something I don’t always think to utilise.
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I was lying on my lawn, Pete. We have a few fungi that are regulars around the house. But this orange variety was a first. Most are more yellow. Thanks!
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Wow Steve! That is one Great & Interesting mushroom image!
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Thanks, Reed. Having them in the yard with multiple opportunities to visit them affords a good chance at capturing a good image.
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A classic! I always think of gnomes, fairies and elves when I see one. 😉
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I don’t remember the storybook, but do remember some child’s book (maybe Alice in Wonderland) that had the red variety of these as part of the storyline. I’ve never seen a toad on one of these stools but hope to someday.
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I found a red and very weathered mushroom in the east Texas woods that I wondered about. Do these spread as they age? The one I found was flattened and faded, but it seems to have been red with the same sort of white spots. It certainly didn’t have the youthful glow of this one. And look how many you have. Do they tend to pop up in groups, like our ‘fairy rings’?
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Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of the fungal strands, mycelia, that move through the soil and exchange nutrients with plant roots symbiotically. So the fungal “flowers” can pop up anywhere but since they are so widespread in the soil they do often appear in groups. Sometimes in a small clump like these or in a larger arrangement.. Every so often I get a fairy ring of boletes called Slippery Jack in our front lawn.
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Very nice, I love the angled row of them into the distance. This past weekend I saw a bright red/orange color at the base of a fallen or cut tree. It was just barely out of the ground so I wasn’t sure what it was, but this has me wondering if it might have been one of these just popping up.
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It may have been one. This time of the year chicken of the woods is appearing on wood and they are red/orange/yellow although the shape is nothing like an Amanita.
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