Something I didn't expect

It isn't unusual to find a few mushrooms during winter in Missouri. Some kinds of mushrooms will begin to grow when a week or so of days get to around 55 degrees or higher, with nighttime temperatures not dropping below about 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

I accidentally happened upon this small mushroom Sunday, Jan. 15. It and two others were quite conspicuous as they were sticking above the leaf litter. I turned over more leaves in the area and found more mushrooms of this same kind that were totally hidden.

My research didn't convince me that I could say for sure what kind of mushroom this is. There are apparently several different kinds of chanterelle mushrooms native to Missouri. This could be one of those. The leaf behind the mushroom is from a chinquapin oak. Never eat any mushroom you don't know to be 100% safe to eat.