Finding inspiration in Fungi
After the recent rains some lovely visitors have arrived in the wood and duff just beyond my house. I did a little digging on the Internet trying to identify my new friend but I couldn’t narrow it down to a name (if anyone knows out there, please share). I got some interesting information about what a mushroom is however. Mushrooms are actually the fruits of fungus. The fungus itself is simply a net of threadlike fibers, called a mycelium, growing in soil, wood or decaying matter. Mushrooms on a mycelium are like apples on an apple tree. The function of a mushroom is to produce spores, which are the “seeds” of the fungus. The spores form then fall off to blow away on the wind or be carried away by animals, water or insects. If a spore lands in a hospitable spot, it germinates and grows into a new mycelium. What’s so mysterious about the mycelium is we don’t know they are there until the fungus “fruits” push to the surface. In the patch by my house they truly appeared overnight. Not just one variety but at least 4 different kinds! It is so astounding how they seem to move whatever is in their way to bare fruit, pushing up through all kind of debris, shoving aside stones, reaching out from the depths to fulfill their destiny…hum I feel a theme coming on, inspiration reaching from the rich, dark soil waiting for the right conditions to bare fruit. Friday, let’s see where it goes, in the meantime add your musings to the mulch.