Boulder Lake

Today I met some other master naturalists on an unsanctioned get together at Boulder Lake Environmental Learning Center. I decided to get there early to  have a look at Boulder Lake. This is near the center headquarters which is closed now because of the pandemic. The learning center and grounds are owned by Minnesota Power and St. Louis County. The UMD campus collaborates with their students doing environmental field work. In non-pandemic times this place is busy with kids and families.

Walking back to my car I noticed this quartet of healthy looking birches on the road next to the lake.

A beaver took a healthy chunk out of the middle two birches yet they manage to survive. After looking over the boat landing area I joined a group of three others to look for mushrooms. We found a bunch of chanterelles. We found one odd looking mushroom called the elf's saddle. It looked like a tiny saddle. Another mushroom we found was a fairy goblet which looked like a tiny goblet.. We found quite a few bright yellow mushrooms named chicken fat. I don't remember all the mushrooms we found but we found quite a few. We spent a couple of hours traipsing through the Boulder Lake property on trails and off trails too. One mushroom we found was the Destroying Angel. It had a long stem but looked innocent. According to our mushroom leader they actually taste good. After eating one you will feel a little sick. The next day you feel good and back to normal. On the third day after eating it your liver shuts down and you die. Suddenly I lost my taste for foraged mushrooms. I did enjoy being with other people out in the woods even if we had to wear masks the entire time.