Not sure what kind of mushrooms you were thinking of reading that title, but I’m talking about these kind of mushrooms, the kind that pop up rather spectacularly when you finally organize and clear out some ground space in your toolshed. What a wonderful and unexpected sight for all of us to come across while putting away our tools! I also have to confess I enjoyed drawing the tools as much as the mushrooms.

From doing just an image search, I believe these to be either Parasol (Macrolepiota procera, good for eating), Shaggy Parasol (Lepiota rachodes, edible if cooked well, but can cause stomach upset for some people), or False/Green-spored Parasol (Chlorophyllum molybdites, poisonous!). We just let them be and have not done any cuts, spore tests, or other such things to seriously try to identify them. Given the range of possibilities, this sounds like the safest answer.
I am always a big fan of plants that pop up in inhospitable or unexpected places. For example, if you hike up the Beacon Rock trail in the Columbia River Gorge (highly recommend!), you will see all sorts of life growing in the cracks and crevices on its sheer cliffs. And anywhere you find decaying wood, you are likely to find one life ended slowly transforming into all sorts of new lives.


Back in 2025, I was particularly taken with this little tree growing out of the rock somewhere in Utah canyon country and had to paint it. I call this one "Finding a Way".
Sometimes nature can be creative, tenacious, and resilient. Seeing examples of this fills me with joy and hope.
