Beefsteak Mushroom?

This morning I had a pleasant surprise when I walked in the park.  Near the Prospect Street entrance, a dark-red object on a log caught my attention.  After taking a close look, it turned out to be a mushroom.  The morphology was unique and interesting.  I took mages from multiple angles.  Some looked like a smiling human face with lower-row teeth exposed.  Some reminded me of boxer gloves.  Some were like swimming jellyfish.  Maybe because I skipped breakfast and got hungry, staring at the object for a few seconds, I felt being presented a beef steak.

When I went home and looked up Claudia's Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms, lo and behold, it not only matched a fungus called beefsteak polypore, but also looked even more illustrative than the picture in the book.  The scientific name is Fistulina hepatica, with the latter word meaning "liver-like".  Truly meaty!

I am thankful to my Heavenly Boss.  After my retirement from a discovery research career, He assigned me to a wonderful Brightwood Park which is filled with unlimited treasures.  I still enjoy plenty of fun in discovery, but am free from the stress of work.

Also included are the pictures of a daddy downy woodpecker teaching his son to find food on trees, and of a squadron of ghost pipes reporting to duty.