I've never liked mushrooms and as such l'm sure it coloured my judgement towards them when out and about and as such l never really bothered trying to identify them.
That changed in October of last year when l rather fortuitously got a place on a rather rainy Roger Phillips mushroom foray and it acted as a catalyst and l am trying to make up for lost time.
In the past if an interesting mushroom presented itself l would take a nice picture of it, but as I had little interest in finding out what one shot was all l took. I now know that I need shots from above, below and the side as well as size, feel, smell, nearby tree and substrates information to aid an ID.
Using a small mirror is a great way to get a shot of the underside and l had some perfect sized mirrors left over from a periscope session at Cubs.
The only thing is that shoving it in my pocket has started to knock the corners off it so l set about thinking how l could sort this and decided that the answer was Sugru shaped.
I purchased a small pack of if it, it isn't cheap, but l thought one of the packets would suffice and the blurb is encouraging.
I'd planned to roll the Sugru out and fold the edges over so I decided to fix a wire eyelt to hang the finished item from. I used thin Bonsai wire which I wrapped around one side and formed a loop around an awl and trimmed off the edges.
I anticipated that the next stage may be a bit fingers and thumbs so I applied a little superglue under the wire on the back side of the mirror.
When you get the individual Sugru packets out mall is the operative word, three condom sized packets with a similar amount of content! Once opened it needs using so no time to waste.
My attempts to roll it on some greaseproof paper with an impromptu rolling pin didn't really work as it was a little tacky and kept sticking to the jar so I decided to squidge it with my fingers as neatly as possible.
I soon discovered that one Sugru sachet wasn't going to be enough so I opened a second one. This gave me just enough to roll it big enough to fold an edge onto the mirror edges and cover the metal loop.
I got most of the mirror sorted with one piece but I needed some of the off-cuts to fill in a couple of gaps. Whilst the Sugru was still pliable I pushed the awl through the metal ring that I made.
Once completed to a decent standard I left it on the greaseproof paper, propped upright on the jar to cure overnight.
Coming down to a cured frame I was pretty happy with the result; there are fingerprints from hand rolling and the edges aren't mathematical but it doesn't need to have the refinement of something like a bespoke bushcraft knife. The Sugru has done a job but I wonder if a cheaper way to get the result would be to use bathroom sealant...
When I take mushroom pictures I decided on a last minute design on the back once I covered the mirror.
The idea is to cover either the 'M' or the 'NM' and take a picture depending on whether it has a mushroom or non-mushroom smell. I pondered whether to make a laminate with tree types on to go with the mirror but decided it was gilding the lily and will stick to snapping the trees and leaves. This mirror is now stowed in my camera back so I don't forget it.
