Riverside Trail, Pinery Provincial Park:

We headed to the Pinery to do some hiking. The variety of fungi found was very exciting. This may be a "Leafy Brain" (positive i.d is difficult.) It's always fun to see the names given to members in the Fungi Kingdom!

The Bird Nest Fungi are some of my favourites. They look like miniature bird nests containing tiny eggs. The "eggs" are called periodels and contain the spores required for reproduction. 

Since Common Bird Nest Fungi grow in dark places they can be hard to locate but we were in tune with looking for fungi after seeing the Leafy Brain. Each "nest" was less than 10mm in diameter. 

Many pairs of eyes helped to locate a few different species! Orange Pinwheel was another tiny fungus with an appropriate name!

White Rattlesnake Root: The name seems to stem from the Iroquois who would apply a poultice of the roots to rattlesnake bikes!

https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/nabalus/albus/

We were fascinated by the movements of a few Phantom Crane Flies. They looked like mini drones or space ships that seemed to be "floating"! The "phantom" part of the name refers to their ability to drift through the air, appearing and disappearing in patches of light and shadow. They have hollow legs and inflated sacs which increase their buoyancy and provide surface area for the wind to push on.

https://uwm.edu/field-station/phantom-crane-fly

Green Frog: At first glance, there appear to be toes sticking out of the frog's mouth. I assumed it was eating some food but eventually concluded the toes belonged to his own feet and were under the head, not in the mouth!