Mushroom Mania

Yesterday we started clean-up work at The Secret Garden.

The first job at hand was to get to the compost at the bottom of this pile.

And this is exactly what we were looking for:  

nutrient rich soil considered black gold by gardeners.

One thing we've had growing most recently is, believe it or not, mushrooms.

They are growing along the swale we dug last year that was filled with horse manure, cardboard, newspaper, leaves, branches, used coffee grounds and kitchen scraps.

These are called desert shaggy mane.  

A sure sign that our soil building is working.

I also found some growing at the walking path in our neighborhood.

And a flat top variety growing in the gardens at Boulevard, a new complex that opened up near our home a year ago.

I even spotted a concrete mushroom outside someone's home.

So, of course, with all these mushroom spottings, I had to crochet a little mushroom doily.  

This is the first year that I can recall seeing so many mushrooms so I'm taking that as a positive sign that something good is coming from all the planting people are doing.

Have a blessed day!