Mushrooms in My Yard

I think mushrooms are really cool organisms. I don’t know much about identifying them; I just like looking at them. After lots of rain, they simply appear. You don’t know when, where, or what kind, but the spores are hanging around and the mushrooms just show up. 

I leave them in my yard when they appear because I like how they look. All sorts of varieties, shapes, and colors; it is all part of nature’s visual artwork. 

When I see these little creations of nature, it reminds me of walking through the woods at my childhood home; mushrooms would be scattered throughout the woods. There were also lots of books I read as a child with illustrations of fairies sitting on the tops of the mushrooms. 

We have had a lot of rain here in Charlotte lately and when I walk around in my yard I find mushrooms all over. I think they are lovely and when I see them they inspire stories. They remind me of legends, folktales, my youth, the woods, and my childhood home. In fact, I think there is even something spiritual about these lovely little things just appearing. 

Here are some pictures of the mushrooms that have appeared in my yard this week. One of them even has a little buddy attached to it; a snail is taking refuge under the umbrella of one of them. Can you find it? 

You can also get lots of information about mushrooms simply by searching for mushrooms. Here is one reference I found that you might find interesting. 

Look Up, And See Where You Are Going

My husband, Steven, and I walked around Freedom Park this past weekend. It was a beautiful day, and not too hot, perfect to get outside and enjoy a walk. When we arrived at the park, we noticed a fairly large amount of people, many were in small groups and were all staring at their phones. We soon discovered that they were not the only ones staring at their phones. Screen watchers were all over the park. It seemed they might be playing some kind of game. As Steven and I walked along the walkway, we found ourselves having to dodge some of the screen watchers. We became quite agile at weaving around them, but finally, we left the walkway and strolled along in the grass. 

We took a couple of pictures and started a short conversation with a gentleman named King, who was sitting on a blanket reading a book. He was a very interesting man; he emigrated from China when he was very young and spoke with a New York City accent. I so enjoyed learning his story. We also shared some of our story with him. We said our goodbyes and began to dodge the screen watchers again as we made our way back to the car. 

Steven and I were quiet as we climbed into our van and started the air conditioning. As we sat waiting for the cool air to come, we began to comment to each other on our park adventure. Together we decided that it was a commentary on today’s society. A beautiful day in the park, but it seemed that 85% of the people there hardly looked up to see where they were going. Although Steven and I made a very conscious effort to keep our smartphones in our pockets, I admit I checked mine once for the time and once to see how many steps my Fitbit was registering (I have a daily step goal, and I wanted to meet it before we left the park).  I took this experience to heart. Technology is amazing and in today’s world necessary, but for myself, I am going to make even more of a conscious effort to look up and see where I am going. I don’t want to miss seeing something beautiful, meeting a new friend, or hearing a really great story.