Mycology - Mushrooms!

The magic of mushrooms has touched us at Syrendell this year. Mycology is utterly fascinating...are they plants, animals, neither? So many varieties, colors, shapes....fabulous fungi.

Our own backyard is filled with different mushrooms throughout the year. This week, we noticed that with the warmer, drier weather, the mushrooms are beginning to curl up and disappear.

We dissected a mushroom, observed a curled-up-dried mushroom, made a mushroom spore print, did a mushroom form drawing, read books on mycology, and did block crayon drawings. Two of our cousins came over and joined us in creating beautiful, crayoned fungi! We also read an adorable book that features a sprite who lives under a mushroom is Naming Renick by Mamaroots (which you can purchase in her Etsy shop).

Leprechauns Came!

We were thrilled to see that not only was our shamrock soup eaten up today, but the leprechauns left us a thank you note! The beautiful mushroom table has begun to curl up around the edges.

We enjoyed using block wax crayons to make rainbows (using only primary colors and blending) and displayed them on the window. Wilson also played a bit o' the Irish harp for us!

Leprechauns in our Yard

Now that the weather is improving, we are spending time daily in the back yard. Inspired by The Magic Onions post on her gnome feast, Wilson decided to create a little home for leprechauns and fairies.


Wilson laughed with glee when he found the perfect mushroom. "I think that they would like to play hopscotch," he exclaimed as he busily found items to decorate the fairy home. Creating a ring around the mushroom with stones, we added leaves for beds, acorn caps for soup bowls and drew a hopscotch game in the dirt leading into the circle. The acorn caps fit snugly into the natural splits in the mushroom top.

"I'm making soup for the leprechauns!" said Wilson as he loaded up each little acorn bowl with tiny clovers, always searching for that special shamrock.

We are going to check on the fairy home on St. Patrick's Day to see if the leprechauns visited to eat their meal and rest on the leaves....

Mushrooms!

Our backyard is filled with lovely mushrooms. As the seasons change, so do the colors and shapes of our fungi friends! We have found mushrooms that are white, orange, brown, green/white, tan, purple and black. The plant kingdom never ceases to amaze us with it's diversity and beauty....

On our way to art lessons earlier this month, we saw a tree stump with the most beautiful fungus growing from it.




Joey found an interesting piece of wood that came from an old planter. Taking the tops of mushrooms that had already fallen and some acorn caps, she made a fairy home, complete with a bedroom below and a dining area on top!

We collected the tops from a bunch of larger, deep orange/purple mushrooms that had ruffle edges that were starting to decompose. Adding some organic coffee grounds, copper granules and water, we boiled up a batch of natural dye. A lovely color resulted on the play silks that we left in the pot for a couple of days. Truly, magical mushrooms!

Our Labyrinth

As we meander down the sacred path through the bushes and trees in our back yard, we feel a sense of excitement as our labyrinth comes into view. We walk slowly, one person at a time into the spiral...breathe in...breathe out...pausing in the middle to meditate or visualize. Then, slowly we amble back to the opening of the circuit. After a journey through the labyrinth, we feel calm, grounded, and inspired....

We made a labyrinth in our backyard. It is beautiful, spiritual, calming, and magical.

After walking around the yard a few times, the kids decided that the back corner was the perfect space. We studied pictures of labyrinths from all over the world and we selected the design that we liked the best. Joey drew up a 7-circuit labyrinth, but then quickly decided that the paths would be too narrow. The design was modified to a 5-circuit labyrinth.

Next, we collected stones from the yards and placed them in the corners, the opening, and the middle. Fortunately, we found a bucket full of stones from Carlsbad beach, camping trips to Mt. Lassen and Idyllwild, trips to Lake Almanor, Lake Tahoe, and San Diego...beautiful stones from magical places! This was the perfect opportunity to infuse our yard with the energy of some of our favorite places.

We drew lines in the ground with sticks and then laid the stones on the lines. We spent a couple of weeks completing the circuits. During trips to dance, art and music lessons, we collected a few rocks and brought them home, always being carful to not take too much from one place.

A couple of geodes from the gold country, some agate and calcite from Idyllwild and an amethyst crystal were incorporated into the design. The crystal stands out of the ground at the top of the middle of the labyrinth, reminding us to pause and breathe.

After the rain, we fix any stones that have moved and find unique, pretty mushrooms that seem to have sprung to life over night. We think that the mushrooms are a sign that the fairies and gnomes love our labyrinth!