Another gray day. For me, the winter blues start rolling in early, right after Halloween. When the sun disappears sooner and the comfortable autumnal temperatures drop, I feel more sleepy, sluggish, and sad. Suppose you notice drastic shifts in your mood during certain times of the year, especially during the bleak, dark winter months.

As a mushroom enthusiast, I occasionally receive photos of fungi or mushroom memes from friends and family. It's a small gesture, but it always makes me smile that folks think of me when they see anything related to mushrooms. When a friend who I hadn’t spoken to in a few years recently sent me a photo of an adorable pair of mushrooms earrings made of polymer clay, I thought to myself, “My main love language is physical touch, but I’m starting to realize that receiving mushroom photos from friends is coming in at a close second.”

Let’s talk about jelly fungi! These types of mushrooms have a gelatin-like consistency and can be shapeless or shaped like cups. During dry periods, jelly fungi become rather hard, but after a decent rain, they return to their original gelatinous, rubbery texture. The only type of jelly fungus that can be found in the wild as well as in the grocery store is the wood ear mushroom (Auricularia auricula).

It’s Friday morning and as I sit here sipping my Four Sigmatic Cordyceps Elixir, I am more motivated now than ever to get into the woods this weekend. Earlier this week, I attended The Secret Lives of Fungi webinar which was hosted by the Lloyd Library & Museum in Cincinnati. Britt Bunyard, mycologist and author, presented a lecture which included incredible stories and beautiful photos of fungi featured in his newest book, The Lives of Fungi, A Natural History of Our Planet's Decomposers.

During his lecture, Britt noted that Cordyceps could possibly be the most common fungus in the world, and that now is an excellent time to look for Cordyceps in southwest Ohio. This got my brain buzzing because I personally have never come across them in the wild, but I also don’t think I ever purposefully sought them out on a hike. (The photo in this blog is a stock photo, but hopefully someday soon I will be able to add a personal photo to my collection!)