“You toadstool!” Butterfly used to say to me when I was a little girl and had been caught doing something bad.  Come to think of it, she still says that to me.  I never thought much of it, since I’ve been hearing it my entire life. 

Now, when I’m getting ready to write about them, I decided to learn a little about mushrooms and toadstools.  Toadstool is commonly used as the name for poisonous mushrooms.  Exactly what was Butterfly trying to tell me?

I don’t know a mushroom from a toadstool, but I’m going stick with calling the entire group toadstools.  Apparently you get them by taking a fair amount rain, add mild California temperatures (possibly warmth in any state would do), and for a really good crop, add horse droppings to the leaves beneath your oak trees.

the first toadstool to catch my eye

 

it's pretty big

I stuck my finger next to this one to give you an idea of its size.

pretty from every angle

Look how pretty it is underneath!

no one makes colors like Mother Nature

Throw in a moss-covered rock and you have amazing beauty.

Look out!  Here I come!

This toadstool is working hard to burst forth from the dirt and leaves.

lovely riffles

It’s also has a gorgeous structure underneath.

topsy turvy

I found this one tumbled over on its side, probably by some clumsy horse.

squiggles

This one, too, had been knocked over.  I love its squiggly underside!

sunny toadstools

These yellow ones look like they belong in a fairy tale.

housing unit?

I’m convinced this is somebody’s house.  Perhaps a little toad lives there?