We took the poot for a walk in the forest today. We expected a lot of the snow to be gone but actually almost all of it was gone (at least in the portion we walked). I was hoping to find a bit of moss and maybe some cladonia so I took the camera. So much moss and so much Lichen. It was great, I spent half the time laying under the ground trying to get 'upskirt' type shots of the pixie cups. Everything was so green and so alive, usually there is a lot of snow pack until at least the end of March or later.

As we were leaving, my partner spotted some orange mushrooms off trail. Too brightly coloured to be Birch Polypore. It was a fresh, decently-sized flush of Phyllotopsis nidulans (at least I am 90% sure of the ID). The only thing that gives me pause is that it did not stink. Actually, it smelled kind of nice, sort of sweet like vanilla. I have heard people report a lack of stench before so I don't know that it invalidates my ID. Regardless, the cluster was stunning. I will add some photos to the gallery later.

Spring is still a ways away but I go back to work in the greenhouses in about a week. It'll be nice to see all the greenery again. I have not started my pepper seedlings for this year yet, normally they get started Feb. 1st so hopefully our crop doesnt suffer. We made lots of shelf stable hotsauce last fall, just in case. Lots of new varieties to try this season.

Our reishi blocks are starting to do something but I'm not sure what yet. This is our first year growing them. Looks like the start of antlers but I'll let them go a little longer just to see what happens. I think the blocks were inoculated at the end of November.