a mushrooming we will go

This time of year, I pull mushrooms like other people pull weeds. Ok, ok, they're probably toadstools, but I don't know the difference. I do know I'm not eating them!

They're everywhere. In the mulch - natch - that's where they are known to flourish: too-deep mulch. I've been hauling mulch away almost since it got put down. It's been making great paths over the clay hardpack that turns into a pond whenever it rains.

But they also grow in good topsoil, as I recently discovered. As well as in direct sun. Did you see that clump hiding in the groundcover I started? Here, look closely.

They're in the grass, in the woods, in my herb garden. . . . This could be a full-time job! I only wish they were edible.

Speaking of edible, if I find out what's been eating my Thomas Jefferson vines, there's gonna be trouble! That's the leafy vine in the second picture with all the holes in its leaves. . . . Soon now, very soon, there should be beautiful white and lilac flowers, followed by maroon bean pods. If the leaves hold out!