Is It Edible?

​A delightful part of forest, woods and wetlands are the fungi. I can’t name them, nor do I wish to start down that rabbit hole of taxonomy. Wildflower, tree, and bird identification is taxing enough for me, and I don’t want to dilute my fascination with things that spread by spores and can pop up overnight by trying to categorize them.
Sometimes you run into fungi so beautiful you must stop and admire it. I always do that. Sometimes I photograph them. 

​Fungi can be more like a flower than a mushroom, and then I consider painting them. The beautiful specimen in the painting below was so striking I had to ask the Google Machine if it is edible. It’s called a Dryad’s Saddle and is apparently edible and quite tasty if harvested early. Then I read the warnings about not ingesting if not 100% certain of the identification and decided to bypass harvesting and cooking and 100% save myself from the trouble of poisoning. 

"Is It Edible?" Watercolor, 14 x 10

​I learned that in Greek mythology, a dryad was a female nature deity, a tree nymph or spirit. I’m going to just enjoy that and leave the cooking of mushrooms for when (I hope) we find some morels. They are worth the risk.
In the painting, you may note the three-leaf poison ivy. It is rampant on this property, and it’s the first time I’ve had to deal with it. Some vines have climbed to the tops of mature trees! I’m both terrified and angry about encountering this beast, and I determinedly carry my sprayer wherever I go, After one season I believe it is being reduced in the areas around the house and shed. I am very cautious, don’t ever burn it, always work wearing long sleeves and gloves, and wash with soap and water the instant I can do so. You must love a place to contend with this enemy.