Yeah, that's mushrooms again ;)

Honestly, I didn't really plan to go hiking that Saturday. My intention was more practical - to go to the mountains and look for some mushrooms. But the road I intended to use was closed until 9AM and I had about an hour to kill, so I decided to look for the mushrooms around Three Sisters park, because I was close to this place. So I turned my wheels and soon parked my car and was walking in the forest, hiking and looking under my feet in hope to find something edible. And... cuz I didn't plan on hiking, the only device to register surroundings was my cell, so don't be disappointed with the pictures ;)

 

The woods in Three Sisters park are wild and surrounded by a lot of boulders. The terrain is really rough but also nice.

Yeah, I know... this was the first mushroom I found and... in case you don't know - steer clear of this cool looking beauty - this is one of the most dangerous mushrooms you can find ;) Highly poisoned but very attractive ;)

I had company :) It was nice to meet this deer deep in the woods and it wasn't really afraid of the stranger wandering around...

As you can guess, I didn't find any edible mushrooms there... just bright and poisoned ones ;) but they are very photogenic, right?

So I returned back to the parking lot and the watch showed that the road should be open by this time and I drove to the place I almost always was able to collect some mushrooms.

And... this time wasn't any exception - there were some not that bright, but much more attractive (and tastier) mushrooms to collect. Not too many... just enough, I guess.

The terrain there is not too tough, but the slopes are steep and a lot of dry woods cross your path. Still... nice to roam.

Nice small creek was running down the hill mostly underground but with many holes you can see the clear water. I liked this!

But, I guess I wasn't exactly right saying the terrain wasn't tough there... In fact it was ;) Just look at what you should deal with if you want some mushrooms in your basket ;)

But the reward was great, the mushrooms were not scarce there and, actually, there were plenty of them!

Nice looking one, huh? I have no idea if it is edible, so I left it and kept collecting only the kind I am familiar with.

Another creek running underground and opening only with dozens of small holes in the ground.

 

Finally the rain chased me off the woods and... actually just in time.

I know it doesn't look really impressive, but... it really a lot of mushrooms... In fact I spent the rest of Saturday and the whole Sunday dealing with the mushrooms I collected. Cleared and boiled some, dried others and... I was even more tired than I could imagine. The only thing that helped me go was understanding this Winter I am going to enjoy eating the delicious  dishes any time I wish and after just half a day foraging for them ;)

Pictures were taken on August 20, 2022.