You don't say how big it is, but it looks very like the stinkhorn "eggs" that they form underground in damp mulch before they break through the ground.

My last sentence was, "It's a little smaller than my fist." Tennis-ball sized, roughly. I will keep an eye out for a stinkhorn, but this thing was above ground, not under the mulch. The whole bulbous fruiting body was exposed. I thought it was a rock at first, then for a second I thought maybe a rotting potato had escaped from the compost bin!

Thanks for the reply, I had given up hope. :-)

--Maureen

Sorry I didn't pay enough attention to what you wrote.

Whatever you have looks yukky.

How about a puffball?

Hmmm, maybe... I stepped on a lot of puffballs back east when I was a kid, but never saw one like this. I'll look into it, though.

I'm not well versed at all in mushrooms (other than harvesting chantrelles in the Pacific Northwest) but I did want to say that this is really fun to see, so thanks for posting it. Let us know if you find a definite ID. Neat!

Take care,
Grant