A mushroom.
It's in my neighbor's yard. I tried to give you some perspective by putting my keys next to it. You can hardly see them in the grass, but the grass itself gives scale.
My neighbor told me I am welcome to come by with some butter and a pan to sautee this monster. I think not.
Zen Monday #200 contest:
We have a tie for first place!
Jean Spitzer and Pasadena Adjacent are the winners, with Frank Zgonc in second place, taking home our beautiful Pasadena City Hall key chain.
Now, for that very competitive first prize, we can either have a run-off, or I might have a way to work this out. I have a secret other prize. I'll contact the winners to find out if they want it, and I'll let you know.
Later:
Ladies and gentlemen, in the Zen Monday #200 contest:
We had a tie, as you read above. And we have prizes for both winners. The lovely and talented Jean Spitzer will receive (I want you to picture Carol Merrill if you're old enough) a stylish, navy blue Lowepro EXS 160 Photo/Video bag and adjustable camera strap!
(Yay! clap clap clap applause!)
Pasadena Adjacent, also lovely and talented (I attract 'em), has agreed to accept the alternate first prize, two free passes to the Huntington Library and Gardens!
(clap clap Woohoo! whistle clap)
Being as PA is local, I hoped that might work out. Whew! Who thought there would be a tie? Obviously, I didn't.
The runner-up, your friend and mine, Frank Zgonc, aka Frazgo Fraz (speaking of lovely and talented) will receive a lovely City of Pasadena square chrome key chain.
Let's hear it for our wonderful winners!
27 comments:
Oh my. I'd have to take a pass on that one, too.
i had a huge one in my yard.. looks like your neighbor was way over watering her grass....or she was watering when it was warm outside... amazing how those little buggers can get so big!.
Adele, it looks like even the bugs don't want it. But it's nice to look at.
This neighbor's a he, KBF, not that it matters. I've never seen his sprinklers on so I don't know when he runs them (overnight, most likely). But I wonder if that's it. We get mushrooms in the back yard and we almost never water there.
that think looks huge! Almost house-like :D
Can you give us another photo tomorrow? And the day after? I'd like to see how quickly it grows. It's a pity that edible mushrooms closely resemble deadly amanitas, isn't it?
I think KBF is right. Beyond the detail of the mushroom, which you've caught quite nicely, I was taken by the color of the grass. It takes a lot of water to make grass that green. I love the contrast with the agave in the background.
i watered a few times during the day when it was hot and i got mushrooms... my sprinklers are set to come on around 4 am... they say night watering causes problems like mushrooms, fungus, etc.
to me fungus is caused by the way i spot watered during the heat... after all fungus is caused by moisture and heat, right?
In defense of my poor, dear neighbor, I did underexpose the photo so all the colors are darker than normal. I don't know about his watering habits but he has a drought-tolerant garden in the median so I doubt he over-waters. I can ask.
Mmm … All that lovely blue sky. Isn't that a toadstool, Petrea, or do you have weird shaped mushrooms out there in the Colonies?
Is this one of those "separated by a common language" questions, Dive? Or have I just plain got it wrong?
It's hard to tell, Petrea. Over here, I go mushroom hunting with a book that weighs almost as much as I do and I'm veeeery careful about identifying anything before I eat it. As Bellis says, the shape of this shouts "amanita" and "eat me at your peril" but we're 6,000 miles apart so you may have some diffenrent species over there.
Probably safer to simply photograph it and admire it from a distance.
Dive - my first thought was it was Coprinus comatus, the Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig, but it's broader than that, so it probably is a mushroom. Petrea could always nibble a bit, and if still alive two hours later, eat a bigger chunk, and if still alive two hours later, fry it in butter and enjoy.
Those tix to the Huntington are like gold! I used to take my kids there, when it was donation only or later, one price per car. Can't afford it anymore, except oh-so-rarely. I like the tea room and would go more often if, with the reservations, they gave you a free pass to the gardens. If you go on a weekend, it's $48 each for tea and the garden, pretty pricey for an afternoon jaunt.
Congratulations to all the winners!
That's a really cool mushroom and a really cool picture. Is that a second mushroom I see in the back left? Your neighbor's grass looks lush and very healthy.
Mushroom people: don't eat any kind of fungus you see growing in somebody's yard. That's all I know.
Laura, we buy an annual pass. It doesn't cover the tea room, but we wave our pass at the guards and enjoy the gardens and art museums all day every day if we want to. If you love the Huntington as much as I do it's worth it.
Bayside, he has three mushrooms. Maybe more by now, I haven't looked since yesterday. Or maybe fewer, if the lawn's been mowed.
They're dancing in the streets in my neighborhood for the winners. Well done, hooray!!! The prizes couldn't have gone to nicer people.
Yay for the winners! Well done!
That mushroom would be quite a prize -- in a totally different contest....
Very much a magical castle
Congratulations to the winners. Well done, people. That is one big mushroom. Steroids maybe?
I'll take magic over steroids.
Incredible detail here. Splendor in the grass.
Mazal tov to the happy winners.
KBF?
I found the following:
KBF Knott's Berry Farm
KBF King Baudouin Foundation
KBF Kentucky Bourbon Festival (Bardstown, KY)
KBF Katholischen Bibelföderation
KBF Kobe Bible Fellowship (Japan)
KBF Key Buying Factors
KBF Kreisler Borg Florman (Scarsdale, NY construction)
KBF Klim en Bergsport Federatie (German Climbing and Mountaineering Federation; Antwerp, Belgium)
KBF Kentucky Butterfly Farm
Or is the same one people use when they refer to me : Kind of a Boring F#$%&er?
I am too lazy to type out everyone's handle. KBF is Kalei's Best Friend, you are MDP or JB from MDP or JB or jb, if I'm really lazy.
That's a big mushroom! I'm glad you opted not to eat it.
Congrats to the fine Zen Monday winners! Woohoo!
Sheesh... I can't believe I was a nominee and missed the entire poll. It's been that kind of week.
Those mushstools/toadrooms are gone today. I'm a little concerned.
Well...while we had numerous large mushroom/toadstools in our grass in Glendale, we never had a huge volcanic one!!! And yes...we watered at night...
Congrats to the winners!!!
Wow - Congrats, winners! Will there be acceptance speeches? Well done on the prizes, PB. Huntington passes are golden.
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