We apparently have fairies dancing at night in the neighborhood!

I found this in a neighbors yard last fall, late one night, and I have been meaning to post the photo I took of it. Prior to finding this ring, I had only read about them, and never actually seen a fairy ring in person.  Of course, I made sure not to step inside the ring.  Being of Irish decent, I knew better. There are so many tales of how they are made and what can happen if you step inside one.  For those who don’t believe in fairies, here is modern info on fairy rings from UC Davis ANR publications.  I find mycology, the study of fungi, very interesting, but a little scary.

8+ years ago, my 5 year old son (at the time) came running up to me shouting, B ate a mushroom!  B ate a mushroom!  With the rain we had that year, the mulch sprouted unseasonable tiny mushrooms overnight and the toddler found them before I did, down the side of the yard that now has the hopscotch path and grapes.  After quickly calling California poison control, we rushed off to the emergency room with my daughter, leaving my son with a neighbor.  It was the worst emergency room visit ever, and I won’t go into many of the details because it still upsets me to this day, but we later found out nothing in her treatment was done correctly.  I thank God, that she is okay.  That night and many others after, I spent dozens of hours, reading everything I could about mushrooms, their toxicity and affects, and sorting through pictures.  Although my kids are older now, and they definitely know to leave wild mushrooms they find around alone, I still can’t help noticing mushrooms anywhere we travel.  Boo also still loves to eat mushrooms, but only the kind we find at the supermarket.