You Grow Girl™

I have a pot that I've been too lazy to empty and clean. I think it had lemon balm in it last year. Last year I planted a little piece of moss in it from an unknown source. Well this year it has been sitting on the deck and little plants have been popping up in it. The plants were cute so I left them. Yesterday on closer inspection I saw that in addition to a variety of plants and mosses, mushrooms have also popped up in the mix. I'm sure they're not edible and I certainly don't plan to find out. But they're cute and since I have a special affection for fungi (except when it looks like cheese or insect eggs) then I'll probably just leave them there for awhile.

One of my "Things to do before I die" goals is to learn to identify mushrooms (mycology). It's the kind of thing I take very seriously because mushrooms are dangerous and one misidentification could be fatal.

I've always been fascinated with mushrooms. When I was 5 years old I ate mushrooms off the front lawn which resulted in an overnight hospital stay and missing my kindergarden teacher's going away party. I am pretty sure I ate mushrooms off the lawn both before and after that incident. I just happened to be caught by my mother on that occassion who was watching me from the kitchen window. I can remember that for years afterwards -- when I undoubtedly knew better, I would see mushrooms growing on the lawn during a rousing game of "Mother May I?" and I would have to use all my willpower to keep focussed on the game and off the mushrooms.

If anyone can identify these mushrooms please let me know. I looked in my "Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms of Canada" book with no luck.

UPDATE: I just went outside and the mushrooms have vanished without a trace!