On 11/12/2011 05:21 PM, Sue wrote:
The fairies have returned to the end of my garden, if red toadstools
they're always illustrated as sitting on are any indicator. This
afternoon I was quite pleased to find we've got four Fly Agarics in
a group in grass under the silver birches.

I know these toadstools are somewhat poisonous but they do look
attractive. There are always brownish fungi of various sorts popping up
at this time of year down the end there, but the last time we had a
single solitary Fly Agaric was 6 years ago in Autumn 2005. Something
seems to have been nibbling or pecking at these latest ones, so I hope
they're not too poisonous to wildlife.


Don't eat them, or you're likely to see the fairies too!

They really are attractive fungi, very common here in Normandy where
they are known locally as "montre-cepe" (the common name is "tue-mouche"
or fly killer) because the have a habit of growing near the delicious
Boletus edulis.

Slugs and snails love Amanitas, I wouldn't worry about the wildlife.

cheers,

-E