In which Lynne becomes an amphibian whisperer ...

Lynne and I went to Amy-Lynn's the other day for a lovely walk in her woods.

It seemed to be a day for noticing mushrooms and fungii.

I love how the grass is growing right through this fungus -- oh wait -- maybe it's the fungus growing around the grass.  What do you think ?

This strange mushroom grew in a squishy looking clump.

I loved the way the cap on this one curled up revealing its gills.

I wanted to learn how to identify mushrooms and came across this lovely poster.  I still haven't learned much, except that eating just half of the cap of the wrong one can lead quickly to a nasty death.

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"Do you want to see some salamanders ?", Amy-Lynn asked us.
Do we  ?  Of course we do !

She turned over a couple of rocks and revealed one salamander after another.  It was like a salamander-city!

You do have to be careful how you handle salamanders.  Some of them have no lungs and breathe through their skin and mouth.

I tried to hold one in my hand and photograph it, but it moved too fast for me.  After reassuring Lynne that they do not bite, she offered to hold one, or two for a portrait.

The warmth of her hand  brought them out of their sleepy torpor, and they moved from one hand to another at an increasing pace.

I think that Lynne can now officially consider herself a "Salamander whisperer".

 Cute, isn't he ?