Amanita muscaria

Amanita muscaria also known as fly agaric or fly amanita.

Wednesday morning last week when Leif came back  from his and Canelo’s  morning walk he asked have I seen there is a beautiful “flugsvamp” (= Amanita muscaria) right outside the gate. I said I had the evening before when I came back from the evening walk. Did you take a pic he asked. Nope, I said, I didn’t. It was raining and I didn’t want to take my camera out from my pocket and the mushroom still was very tiny, just had popped it’s head up through the ground. He said that in his opinion the fly agaric is the most beautiful mushroom of all mushrooms. I told him I too think they look nice and how I every fall, when I was a kid, at school, loved to draw and paint them. He suggested I take a picture of it. Since I actually have so many pictures of fly agaric from all previous years, I had no intention to shoot any new ones. But, okay, if you want me to I’ll do it.

The next days we kept asking each other have you seen the mushroom today ? The color is so nice and bright. Then, oh, now the hat is really big. Then, awww, the color is fading. Today Leif said no need to take anymore pictures of the mushroom, in his mind, it was practically gone. I couldn’t resist, I took one more pic. He was right, the mushroom’s “best before” has expired.

i have always wondered why the name refers to flies. I have never seen any flies or other insects, snails or anything on them. I guess it’s because the poisonous. I believe I have, if not hundreds of pictures of the amanita muscaria, but very well dozens of them I will not take any new pictures anymore next fall or the next or the next . . .  😉