Good morning on this cloudy Thursday! The temperature is not so bad though, it is 28F (-2C). We might even get above freezing by a degree tomorrow. And we might be getting more sunshine for a few days next week and that will certainly be nice. But it will stay cool though. Even though it is cool, the sun makes it feel good anyway.

I went out shopping yesterday morning, nothing unusual there, except I was unable to get everything I needed. Nothing unusual about that either. However, when I got back to our building I was unable to get inside. My swipe card was not working. So the door did not open.

Gem-studded Puffball, usually about 1 to 2 inches (2-5cm) in size.

I am glad I did not get home at midnight, that would have been a real problem. Now there is usually a few people sitting around in the lobby area, but yesterday, no one was there. That was unusual too. Finally, after a long wait, one of the other tenants came along and I was able to get her attention, so she let me in. Fortunately I see her quite often so she knows I live here. Sigh.

Pear-shaped Puffball, about the same size as above, usually grow in groups on decaying logs.

I reported the problem, so the man at the office put in a work order to check it out. The building maintenance technician was supposed to get in touch with me yesterday afternoon. He did not. Sigh. Maybe today. It is kind of important to get back in after I have gone out. The joys of living in an apartment building I guess. Sigh.

I actually saw a ring-billed gull yesterday. I was sure they had all gone by now, but at least one does not want to leave. There is no ice on our lake yet even with the temperature staying below freezing for the past week. Some of the smaller lakes in the area are probably starting to freeze now.

Tumbling Puffball, again about the same size as above, no stem and can blow around in the wind easily.

I imagine it will take a while yet before our big lake begins to freeze though. There is not much bird activity around here anymore, except for ravens. Hmm, a raven just flew past my window. Something like that would actually make a nice picture, but it would be hard to capture since they go so fast.

Stalked Puffball-in-aspic, one of my favorites, pink to red, usually smaller than above, they grow in groups on decaying logs.

I am showing some mushrooms today, puffballs to be exact. These are all the ones I have identified around here, all along the path to the river. Hopefully I will have more to share in the coming weeks. Have a great day everyone and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2023 Steve McLeod.