Would Annie Eat This?

While out walking, I spotted this beautiful  mushroom growing in the forest. My first thought was that is so pretty.

My second thought was, Would Annie eat those? Because once you write books about a porcupine, apparently every walk through the woods turns into research.

Porcupines are herbivores, and their menu changes with the seasons. They eat leaves, twigs, bark, roots, berries, grasses, and other plants they find while wandering through the forest. And yes, porcupines have also been known to eat fungi.

So Annie might be VERY interested in investigating these.

Of course, Annie is also a children's book character, so I'm going to give her the same rule I would give any curious kid: Pretty does not mean edible.

Wild mushrooms can be difficult to identify, and some can make people or animals sick. So these beauties are staying right where I found them.

Annie can sniff. She can investigate. But Annie is not getting a taste test. 

Sometimes the best things we find in nature are simply meant to be admired.