WiseAcre Gardens

I went hiking along the Raquette River looking for something unusual and found this. Can you guess by the texture of it’s skin what it might be? Reptile? Amphibian? The back of my hand?

This ’skin’ belongs to an older specimen. It was found on a rock outcrop nestled among some moss. At one point it might even have been edible.  They don’t bite, scratch or even try to run away but the uncertainty of identification makes eating any of these life forms dangerous.

Still it’s fun to poke at them. The only problem is that each poke produces less of a reaction. Only the first poke or two is really rewarding

What species of puffball this is is beyond me. I’m only assuming it’s a puffball because it “puffed” when I poked it.

I hold my breath when I do this. The sight of the spore cloud is more than enough to make me wonder what effect they might have on me.

That’s strange, all of a sudden I don’t feel quite like myself.