Death or Unga-Bunga

... winding down a week of vacation time yesterday - grabbed a camera and took a trail ride up along the ridge to see what kind of photo opportunities we'd encounter - also wanted to work out the gear box on the daily driver KJ as it doesn't get a lot of use off pavement...

... about three miles out we came upon this patch of 'LBM's'...

... 'Little Brown Mushrooms'...

... boy - havin' a heck of a time identifying these things - in fact, we can't...

... could they be the 'Deadly Galerina'?...

... "just one pinch from the cap of the Deadly Galerina carries enough toxin to kill five men"...

... don't know...

... a bit later and higher up on the ridge...

... a big 'Timber Rattlesnake'...

... our second time up there this Spring and the second rattler in as many trips - he was on the move (must have had a date), only pausing long enough to warn us with a quick buzz or two - he was quick and soon to be into the tall grass - didn't get the best images focus-wise because of the combination bright sunlight and shadows and not much time...

... he was a big one - four feet and some inches and fat - nice colors...

... an interesting combination of potential death...