Sometimes you just have to appreciate the beauty of the natural world.

This is a gorgeous cluster of what I think might perhaps be Bonnet Mushrooms… maybe?

You see, I have a problem. Quite often when I encounter something captivating in the wild, my first and only instinct is to try to capture a photo of it from whatever I think is the most interesting angle.

Then, a few days/weeks/months later, I decide that I want to share that photo, and begin researching the subject, which invariably starts with me trying to identify whatever the hell I took a picture of.

I’ve reached the point now where I basically know an expert for most groups of organisms, whom I will annoy whenever I need something identified, and our conversations almost always go like this:

“Hey [Relevant Expert], any idea what this is?”

“Hmmm, did you take any photos from other angles?”

“Ummm, nah, sorry.”

“Well, it could be this, but you should really take more photos next time.”

“Yes, I will absolutely definitely do that. Thank you.”

This cycle repeats ad nauseum, with the relevant expert presumably getting increasingly frustrated each time it happens.

So to all my wonderful taxonomist friends, please enjoy these unidentified pretty mushrooms, and accept my sincerest apologies that I’m probably never going to change ❤️

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Bonnet Mushrooms (Mycena sp.) – probably, Los Amigos Biological Station, Peru