A walk around the George C Reifel Sanctuary on a cold and cloudy day in October, looking for birds to photograph and took a path to the right to find these amanita muscaria mushrooms also known as fly agaric, a species of toadstools. What a pleasant surprise to see a group, a basidiocarp  of bright red tops with white  wart-like spots. Another variation (persicina)  with pinkish, orangey colour was with these beautiful toadstools.

These toadstools are hallucinogenic but some people eat them. You have to boil them to get all the toxins out. The toxins in A. muscaria are water-soluble. When sliced thinly, or finely diced and boiled in plentiful water until thoroughly cooked, it seems to be detoxified.

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