Mellow moments, and a few more mushrooms

It's Sunday morning and I'm waiting for some light rain to stop before we head out for morning walk.

Bailey being a snuggle shepherd.

On an evening walk with her safety light.

Give a paw, get a paw.

This handsome hunk is Jacopo, one of Bailey's friends.

Apparently, at one time, and perhaps still in some places, you can take a wild mushroom to a pharmacist in France and they would tell you what it is and if it is safe to eat. I don't see that happening at the pharmacy I use here in Lille, but some people on a recent post claim it's still true where they live.

She actually grabs and holds on, forcefully. 

This colony has sprouted some new growth every time I pass by.

Two different pyracantha, side by side

One of the community gardens at the Citadel.

Doing an "up" on a stone post.

According to my phone, this is snowberry.

These are massive, the largest is more than a foot wide.

Again, with the paw holding my arm in place.

The front of our house from just inside the courtyard, only one car present. Those big planters contain oleander, which have some blooms on them. I sort of wish I was in charge of the containers.

More mushrooms

I'm seeing them everywhere now it seems. 

After some rain

We went through a long dry spell this summer, though it was never as bad as many places in France where there were forest fires. But, the grass turned brown, water levels were low, and even shrubs in the woods were drooping from lack of water. We've had some refreshing rains over the last couple of weeks, including one just a couple days after the Braderie, when the city was really needing a good rinse. The green grass came back very quickly, and there's been a "fruiting" of mushrooms that appeared almost overnight when that fungal mycelium finally got the necessary moisture. The city park service as a "let nature take its course" philosophy so there are plenty of fallen and rotting logs in the woods around the Citadel. Some of them are quite interesting and attractive.

Bailey is happy to be back taking our daily walks in the woods and visiting the dog park. She has several human friends now, all women. All the dogs like her, but she hasn't played with anyone lately beyond a little bouncing around and making friendly play bows.