Marcy Mushrooms

Confession Bell 10 by Earl Plato

I have four beautifully coloured fungi photos on my walls. The late nature photographer John Lessle from Buffalo, New York photographed all of these in Marcy Woods. I confess that I love mushrooms. We went on a walk in Marcy Woods a past spring and found different mushrooms (fungi). An expert on mushrooms led us. The late Dr. Robert Fisher PhD. of St. Catharines was our guide. Bob and his associate Eira were scientists with a precise knowledge of fungi. By 10 a.m. we had signed in at Dr. Marcy’s farm and headed for the Woods. It was damp and ideal for mushroom growth. This was a three hour ramble of “find, stop, inspect, discuss, and preserve”. We found 39 fungi species. Dr. Fisher said excitedly four were new finds for him! Photos were taken of our finds. The following Monday night Bob Fisher was our guest speaker of the Bert Miller Nature Club. His slide show and his displays of fungi were outstanding. He again pointed to the danger of eating just any mushroom. Some of his examples were that of the Amanita Genus that are deadly poisonous. Bob Fisher was an accomplished nature artist and has shows throughout the Niagara peninsula. He had two of his great mushroom paintings there. Wonderful detail.