Another weird mass found on Mayne Island. One is on the bark of a living tree 4 ft from the ground, and the other one close by on a tree stump 3 ft from the ground. Looks like they both have been disturbed. Are these fungi?
The clumps on the stump top looks like scat from a coon with a varied diet. A big one. Critters mark their territory, and when the territories overlap, they mark even more. I've never heard of an angry critter slinging the party of the second part's mark around the woods, but I wouldn't bet against it, either. We could speculate that an offended landholder stumbled upon a claim jumper "in the process", whereupon the party of the second part had to go on the go. The mushrooms will happily claim anything organic, first come, first served. There could be dozens in there, busily coexisting, and you're just looking at the first fruiting body.
I agree on the scat ID - I would add river otter as another potential source, given the habitat and their preferences for on-land deposits. Love the narrative by the way Michigander! Yah the photos 1 and 2 do look "flung" :-) frog
