Wednesday, June 13, 2012

mushroom mania. lizards. skull art.



we've had lots of rain lately- which is a good thing
since we're usually in drought conditions.

the rain and the heat...the overall humidity...
means the ground gives birth to MUSHROOMS!
i love mushrooms.
we have such a variety...popping up all over...
i wonder if some are edible.

i think even if i had a mushroom ID book,
i still wouldn't pick them and cook 'em up...or add to salads.
would you?

anyway, i have tons of 'shroom pic's, but don't want to overload you.
so i've picked out some of the more unusual ones...
with a few lizards tossed in, just to add a little spice.



"Life is too short to stuff a mushroom."  
~Shirley Conran


(uh...no it's not. stuffed mushrooms! yum!)

a Green Anole in the brown phase


a Green Anole


"I'm just some lunatic macaroni mushroom, is that it?"  
~Joe Pesci


EarthStar 'shrooms

a Five-lined skink 

growing on the base of a pine tree

down for the count

a Brown Anole. a bit blurry, i was lucky to get this...he took off running a nano-second later.


~O~

you may know i like to collect...bOnes.
i decorate some of them.

here's one of my found deer skulls, after cleaning it up...


same skull after i gave it a mottled purplish look...


after giving it a moon...and a few stars...


and then painting a crow or a raven...or something in between...
on a tree branch...
after some touch-ups i'll seal it front & back with Acrylic spray.


~O~
well, that's it. gotta run. have two more massage appointments today.

stay cool  &  be safe.
laura




32 comments:

  1. i like the raven!

    and i love all your shrooms and lizards. the 2nd shroom made me think of a toasted turtle cookie. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks theresa!

      A TOASTED TURTLE COOKIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i LOVE it!!! hahahaha!!!! :)

      Delete
  2. That skull is very mystical.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. happy to hear that delores...cause that's how it felt as i was doing it...

      Delete
    2. Mystical art = Laura.

      Bravo on the skull art - awesome!!!

      Delete
    3. thanks jean!! i appreciate it!! :)

      Delete
  3. I like the green/brown anole on the bell - the photo is so mysterious! In fact, most of this group is off-beat strange, something at the heart of a lot of nature. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks lorna...i like the anole all stretched out and relaxed on the bell too! he's not the first lizard i've seen in that same spot...

      Delete
  4. I find the mushrooms growing in the wild to be fascinating. But I too, would not eat them. I guess I have morrells in my yard. Again, I'm not eating them.

    I love what you did with the skull! A true artist can turn anything into a canvas. You have some talent, right there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hey stew! unless i've planted it myself...i'd have a hard time eating it because i just don't trust myself...BUT i suppose if i was lost in the wilderness...and there were lots of mushrooms around...well, i'd learn fast what i could eat to survive!

      glad u liked the skull! thanks!! :)

      Delete
  5. Laura, first of all, let me thank you for all your recent comments on my blog. I've been crazy busy lately but am having a break before the next round of activity! As for NYC, I did not know you were from there! Wow! I am glad I could show you a bit of "home." I like to visit the blogs of places I have lived too. It does take one there virtually at least. If yu want to read any other posts about NY just click on the label for it in my sidebar or at the bottom of the post. If you click on the link for birding New York you will probably pull up the most posts.

    As for eating mushrooms, I am not a big fan and I would be cautious too, but I know Dawn Fine and a few others eat them. There is one especially big one you can eat called "chicken of the woods". Google it to find out more. also, Dawn has some posts on her blog about mushrooms. Her blog is called "Dawn's Bloggy blog and is also in my sidebar or you can just Google it. She is quite popular and friends with people from all over the USA.

    I love how you painted the skull and I also love the anole! Nice to hear from you again, Kathie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks kathie...
      i'll do that...check out your other NY posts...when i have TIME!! haha

      and i'll also check out Dawn's blog you mentioned...as far as the chicken in the woods mushroom...i'll take a look at it...but i still might not trust my judgement...to EAT it!! :)

      Delete
  6. Stuffed mushrooms - YUMM.
    Those earthstar ones are really interesting. I've never seen them before. Great blue skull - very eerie and slightly unsettling...

    It's always so great to visit you, Laura :)

    (P.S. how do you do the individual replies to each comment? I can't seem to do that on my blog.?)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes, i love the earthstars!!

      about the commenting to individual comments...i tried to email you but i don't have your email and it's not on your blog, so hopefully you'll get this...
      i copied this from Blogger Help...how to enable THREADED comments...which means you can comment back to each comment left on your blog: (email me if you can't get it...ForestWalk.art@gmail.com)

      Enabling threaded commenting

      If you have commenting enabled on your blog, then threaded commenting will work provided you have your blog feed set to "Full," and have chosen the “Embedded" option as opposed to “Full page” or “Popup window.” (these are under your blog SETTINGS) To change your commenting settings, just go to the Comments section under Settings | Posts and comments. The setting to change your blog feed can be found under Settings | Other.

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Laura! Got it :)

      Delete
  7. I just love the odd mushrooms you have down there--and the lizards!! I got so excited to see one of the brown anoles with the markings!! When I was a teen my dad caught me a dozen of them when they were visiting in Florida and brought them back to me in a large coffee can with holes. I had an aquarium full of them! They have shorter snouts and a more aggressive attitude than the green anoles. I adored them! (I had green anoles, too.)

    You amaze me with your painted skulls. I love the crow or raven (what's the difference?)--but then you know how I love crows. ;) Hope you are doing well and feeling fine, Lady!! :):)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i was raised in NY and i too had the anoles...just the green ones...and they'd always escape and then we'd find them weeks later...all dried up...behind the couch or whatever. poor little lizards!

      thanks for the kmind words about the painted skull! :)

      Delete
  8. Cool post and critters, Laura! The earthstar mushrooms are cool looking. I love the anole on the bell or chime and lizards. Great post and your photos are awesome. Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks eileen! i agree...love the earthstars! even the name is cool!

      Delete
  9. Very nice pics...thought the second one was a smashed turtle. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ha! Tex (first comment) thought it looked like a toasted turtle cookie!! funny...cause i LOVE turtles and it never even occurred to me how it looked like a turtle until you guys brought it up! ha!

      Delete
  10. The mushrooms are delightful, but I love the most, is the lizards, they are superb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks Bob...yes!! the lizards!! one of my favorite little critters around here!

      Delete
  11. OMG! I love your photos and your art. Love photos of 'shrooms and finding them on walks. The lizards are too adorable. I wish we had anoles here. Just mostly skinks and swifts, but they're fun, too. The skull is awesome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks bunnits!! you know the center of the earthstars are like little PUFFS...and when i see them, i think of you are your MONSTER puffball mushroom! :)

      Delete
  12. Oh you do take some lovely pictures. I'm not keen on eating mushrooms unless they are finely chopped up but I do appreciate good pictures of them :))
    I love some of your quotes too. Thanks for sharing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. thanks ellie! for stopping by, and leaving a note!! have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  14. OH! Your skull art reminds me that I have a several-years-old squirrel skelteton to dig up, clean, & preserve!! Maybe I best get on that soon...

    Love the lizards peeking out from between the fantastic fungi! Thanks, again, for your unique view of the natural world.

    ReplyDelete
  15. You're a mushroom junkie, Laura (even tho you don't eat the weird ones)! Where do they all come from? And, why, do you get all the good ones? That 'earthstar mushroom' is really cool. We just get the common, usual 'shrooms. Oh well, I'll just keep looking. You got some great shots, and love the drop of water!

    Hope you're doing well, I'm playing catch up...been tired and busy. See you soon!♥

    ReplyDelete
  16. Mushrooms! I've missed your mushrooms. I'm sorry you are having a poor mushroom year. We do need rain, don't we.

    cubensis spore syringe

    ReplyDelete

thanks for stopping by! it's always nice to hear from fellow wanderers!