Our topic this week is Magical; Ann-Christine suggests we think about something that appears magical to us. When I mentioned this topic to a good friend she suggested I go for a walk along the edge of the woods near our summer house. She had seen wild mushrooms growing and was struck by their astonishing colors and textures which looked so magical growing on the forest floor. Seeing these wild mushrooms among the sun rays and shadows made them look like they had truly been created by magic!
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” – W.B. Yeats
This colony of mushrooms was nestled among ferns and small white wild flowers. I decided to edit this picture with an impressionistic software program and was surprised by the way it turned out. I think the soft surreal colors and patterns give this scene a magical look!
“We all have magic inside us.” – JK Rowling
The images below are few other mushroom colonies scattered around the area.
Little did I know when photographing these remarkably, magical looking mushrooms in the woods just how deadly beautiful some of these are!. And yet, how essential for forest and grassland ecology, climate control and atmospheric chemistry, water purification, and the maintenance of biodiversity!
Following is a link to The USDA Field Guide to Common Macrofungi in Eastern Forests and Their Ecosystem Functions which might be of interest. (https://www.fs.fed.us/nrs/pubs/gtr/gtr_nrs79.pdf)
“But then there are magical, beautiful things in the world…” – Dave Matthews