Beautiful, isn’t it?
Looks like brightly colored coral you might find in some warm part of
the Pacific Ocean, but certainly not in the woods of Maine.
Yet this is a Maine
mushroom. It’s called “Golden Spindles”
or “Fairy Club” (Clavulinopsis
fusiformis), and yes, it is edible although often bitter. I just love when they start appearing in the
forest. Their bright yellow patches
always catch my eye. Even in the shade,
as this photo was taken, you can see just how brilliant they are.
I didn’t make up the term “Fairy Club” for this mushroom,
although I wish I had. It sounds like
something I would do. This leads me to
wonder if there are others watching the fairies, and if so, why would they call
this mushroom a “club”? Perhaps I should
take some of these and dry them for future use when searching for fairies. It never hurts to have a little extra ammo,
and maybe I could use them in trade.
 |
| Fairy Club mushroom (Clavulinopsis fusiformis). |
You see, I haven’t forgotten about the First Contact, and
the plan that I’ve been toying with is to leave a few gifts at a favorite fairy
place and see if there is any response by the next day. I know the perfect offering stone, and I know
they go there often because of the strange things I see there: scorched ground, bits of bright silk ribbon,
evidence of spilled fairy wine, fairy mushroom rings, etc. So what I’m thinking is maybe some milk or
wine, a little bit of food, and some of these fairy club mushrooms. Giving away “clubs” might not sound like such
a good idea, but it’s as good an idea as any.
Besides, they could gather plenty themselves in the forest if they were
so inclined. It’s not like I’ve cornered
the market on them, and giving a gift might work in my favor. Then, too, it could backfire and they might
try to enslave me to be their mushroom gatherer for all eternity.
In any event, I’m tired of waiting, and the stone where I’m
thinking of leaving the goodies is not far from my house, which I think is a
good idea. I think I should be closer to
home in the beginning in case things get out of hand. I don’t want to go through another pond
episode.
