Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Monday Mushrooms. #4
PLEASE NOTE: This post is intended for sharing fun and interesting facts on mushrooms. It is NOT INTENDED to be used as a guide for identifying edible mushrooms!
Hi everyone and Happy Monday! It is a beautiful day, partly sunny and a temperature of 30F (-1C), much better than yesterday’s temp of -31F (-35C). And it should stay milder all week with temps between 35F and 41F (2 to 5C). Anyway, let’s dig into our mushroom of the week. Today we are looking at one called the Hedgehog. This one can have cream to apricot colored caps and white stems, but there is also a white variety, like the one in my photos.
Hedgehog, side view.
These mushrooms usually grow singly, or in loose groups, growing from the ground around living trees. The underside of the cap has spines, or teeth, instead of having the more usual gills or pores of most mushrooms. I wasn’t able to get a photo of that since I didn’t want to dig up the mushroom so I could turn it over. And it was too short to get a picture underneath, even lying flat on the ground.
Top view.
The caps can grow from 2 to 7 inches in width (5 to 17.5cm). The cap is rolled under when the mushroom is young and flattens out as it matures. The stem is quite thick and white and can grow up to 4 inches (10cm) long. The mushroom in my photo has a cap that is just over 3 inches (8cm) wide and the stem is less than 3 inches (7cm) tall.
Hedgehogs are considered to be a favorite edible with a slight fruit like aroma and a light peppery taste. As usual, use caution when consuming wild mushrooms, go with someone who knows their mushrooms well to make sure you are getting the right one. These grow from late summer through fall. That’s all for our mushroom today, I hope you all have a great week and God bless!
Steve. ©2026 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 
Steve, you were really close to the ground, when you got your Hedgehog mushroom, you can see the water droplets under the cap. Well done.
Your temperatures outdoors are really fluctuating. Amazing to go from -31 F to 30 F. People are probably wearing shorts and no coats outdoors. Our winter in the Far North has been extremely cold with temperatures from -65 F to -20 F, since the beginning of November. When it warms up to -15 F we get snowstorms and 3 feet of snow. It will not melt until late April or May. It is beautiful but cold. We had military exercises in our area and there were some Canadian soldiers who said it was like home as far as the storms went but it was much colder here. Enjoy your warm temperatures.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much for your kind words! I was wondering if anyone would notice those water droplets. I think that’s one of my favorite mushroom pictures.
Yes, we don’t normally get such wild fluctuations like that, usually it will take 2 or 3 days for such a big change and we think that’s fast. You’re right, I did see people out wearing shorts and T-shirts! I noticed that Alaska and our far north have had it cold, too cold. I think the coldest temp on the Canadian side was -60F. You are getting a lot of snow! We haven’t had much again this year and that’s not good, bad for our lakes and rivers. Sorry I missed this comment somehow, glad I checked back! 😃📷🍄☕☕
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome! Lying on the ground to capture the water droplets paid off for you.
It has been quite the frigid snowy winter.some commercial buildings have started removing the sow so they won’t have the roof leak or cave in when it gets warmer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can believe that, snow can get very heavy indeed! It was 18F today with snow pellets and freezing drizzle, tonight it’s supposed to be freezing drizzle all night with the temperature rising to 25F.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Our snow is light but when it get warmer, it dies get heavy. My preference is snow over freezing drizzle or rain. The one good thing we have is the increasing daylight. It will be equinox soon with 12 hours of sunlight along with light before and after sunrise and sunset. Also the aurora borealis can be seen frequently at night. Although, I’m not a fan of watching the lights at -30 F and below, outdoors, many tourists come from all over the world to see them. Although it might not be warm, daylight sure beats the darkness. It is warming up to the negative teens snd we have another winter storm coming but with only 6 inches of snow forecast.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I could never handle all that darkness for so long, I find it hard where we live. The days are getting longer, but we are not getting much sunshine, mostly day after day of heavy clouds. Today it was freezing drizzle, freezing rain and fog with a high of 21F this afternoon, but it kept getting warmer until 7pm when it hit 30, now it’s back to 21 again. It’s very slippery out there today, but the ice should melt on Sunday when the temp is supposed to be 40. Then it turns colder again on Monday. Have a great weekend!😃☕☕
LikeLiked by 1 person
The light is always changing and with clear skies and snow, it is not so dark. Overcast skies brings more warmth but it is darker. We are getting almost 12 hours of daylight now and before we know it, June will come with the midnight sun. Vacations in warmer places make for a better winter but making sure the heat stays on is important. The temperature went up to 20 F and the roads are treacherous! Sounds like you do not have many days of clear skies. It is good to see the stars and the moon. Enjoy your weekend and your indoor garden.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We are supposed to get quite a bit of rain tomorrow, then it’s going to drop in temperature at night and Monday, so it will be extremely slippery for a while. Not a very good thought, makes it hard for me to get out. Thank you, have a great weekend too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
At least if you can’t go outdoors, you have a view. Once our snow storm is fished we go back to -40 F.
LikeLiked by 1 person
At least that kind of cold is over for us now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good!😊
LikeLiked by 1 person