Shroomin'

 I went for a wet, rainy hike in the redwoods yesterday to check on the status of the mushrooms. They definitely are popping out of the earth now, several different types making appearances.

 These mushrooms pictured above were baseball to softball size, growing at the base of a large redwood. Hiking in the redwoods in the rain is as enjoyable as hiking in the Sierra in the sun. It's idyllic I think.

 The rain tends to keep the visitors away as well. Not all of them, but enough to enjoy a lot of solitude on a Saturday. The newts also are now walking around again. The rain helps keep them moist and allows them to travel around without fear of drying out. They are shy creatures, I tried getting several photos, but they kept running for cover in slow motion, as soon as they'd spot me eye-balling them.

 Mushroom hunting is much like tree hunting, in that everything seems to melt into the background when on the search. I barely recall seeing any of the trees. My focus was on the ground.

 The creeks and streams are slowing filling up with water again. Some spots the puddles in the dry stream beds are getting larger. With a little more rain, I imagine the puddles will eventually converge and the dry streams will begin flowing again.

As far as I can tell, it seems like we are getting ample rain so far this year. Let's hope it continues...