Twin earthballs: top, front, back.

Earthballs Beyond DLSP Nature Trail, Oct. 28, 2010

Since Oct. 5, I've been tracking earthballs on an old road beyond the Nature Trail in Deer Lake State Park. See Oct. 19, 21 and Nov. 4 (also 11 and 18).

On Oct. 28 I didn't see the fully functioning earthball. Compare progress on this page. Previous fungi must have been mushrooms; they were all gone. I was glad to find the twin earthballs in the photo above at these coordinates: 30°18'27.4" N 86°04'16.4" W (see them opened on Nov. 4). Along the way I saw the multi-topped mushroom condo and three small burrows, each roughly three inches across. They might have been made by gopher tortoises. One of them was at 30°18'26.6" N 86°04'09.8" W. I recently learned the concept of a fungus body as mycelium. I suppose some of the filaments straggling down across the burrow entrance could be mycelia.

Mushroom condo. Possible small gopher tortoise burrow.

I track their progress each week. See Puffball Watch, 2010-2011.