Join me for a walk in the woods

I love trekking through the woods in the Fall.  The leaves are starting to change color, the mosquitoes have stopped eating me alive, and the mushrooms are starting to sprout all over.  I've gotten into the habit of always taking my camera with me when I go wandering.  I love taking pictures of all the different mushrooms, interesting plants, flowers, and trees, and any animals I come across.  So I thought I'd share some of the cool things I found while wandering through the woods the other day.
These are a few of the more interesting mushrooms I came across.  This is a great time of year to spot mushrooms growing under trees and in damp shady spots throughout the woods.  I found more mushrooms this year than ever before, and even discovered a few varieties I've never seen before!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And while I was moving some branches aside to get a picture of this funky mushroom I discovered this handsome fellow curled up in a small tree about 3 feet off the ground.

 

 

How awesome is this?!  I'm fairly certain it's a garter snake, and I'd say it was at least 1 1/2 to 2 feet long- a pretty good size for snakes in this area.  It's actually kind of rare to see any snakes around here any more, unfortunately.  Too much destruction of habitat along with pollution, added to the sad fact that many people feel they have to kill every snake they come across.  I think these creatures are beautiful, and serve the very important role of keeping the rodent population in check.  It was pretty cool outside when I discovered the snake, and he was pretty sluggish, so I was able to get some good pictures.  Although I wanted to, and I probably could have, I didn't touch the snake or disturb him in any way.  As the saying goes: "Take nothing but pictures, and leave nothing behind but footprints".  Don't disturb the natural balance.  I did take the time to thank him for posing so nicely for me though ;-)

I hope you enjoyed sharing my walk in the woods!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters 

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The Mushroom Grove

The Mushroom Grove on ArtFire.com offers historical-inspired rosaries and rosary jewelry, engraved eggs, recycled glass, sculpture, vibrant hand dyed silks, OOAK flameworked glass pieces, paintings and sculpture among other things.  Will and Bekka are the artists behind The Mushroom Grove.  Their Bio reads "William Bonnichsen was a Friday the 13th baby! He was born on a Naval base in Illinois to two Navy parents.  He showed talent as an artist from an early age and enjoyed sketching and painting as hobbies.  He attended school in Pennsylvania and after High School, attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.  He traveled the United States extensively and worked as a conservation framer in Hawaii. He also sold a line of recycled glass jewelry both online and at galleries.

Bekka was born on the South Shore of Long Island, NY.  She always had an affinity for the arts and enjoyed creating in her spare time. She is also a licensed cosmetologist who enjoys the transformative powers of modern beauty techniques.  The couple met on Etsy in early 2010 and made a real life connection that turned into a lifelong partnership."  

I must say, this partnership certainly has worked out, creatively speaking.  Their shop is full of beautiful and unique handcrafted items.  You can also find them online at http://www.engravedegg.com/, http://www.themushroomgrove.blogspot.com/, and on Twitter.  Below is just a small sample of the beautiful work available in The Mushroom Grove.  Be sure to stop in and see all they have to offer!   

There's a lot more where these cool pieces came from!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters