A small flying insect brushed against my face. There isn’t even a trace of ice along the edges of the little waterfall. Fate and Zinnia are wearing their flea and tick collars. I left my jacket in the house, put on my straw hat spraying it, and my clothes with tick repellent.
It’s spring in the Orphaned Woods.
On the same small tree that I found a string of snowflakes a couple of months ago, now a single black and white hair or vane from a feather is stuck to a tiny bud.
I gain my balance walking over the fallen log that makes a small bridge over the even smaller stream. Now the far end of the log rests in mud so swampy, my boots sink in, making a sucking sound as I lift them.
Then I see the touch of red, what I’m sure is the shell of a bullet hidden under the leaves. But as I move the leaves to pick up the shell, I can hardly believe what I see instead. A red as intense as fresh blood, but brighter.
It’s the inside of a mushroom. The fungus shaped like a cup holding the red. I can’t stop looking at it. The red is so alive in all the winters’ brown and gray.
I cover it over with leaves again before walking away. I want to protect it. I want to protect anyone who might think of eating it. A color like that, it must be poisonous.
Five of the evergreens I planted last summer survived, although one is bitten in half. The moss is brighter and few small green sprouts have already pushed their way through the soil.
The Orphaned Woods are waking up.
That redmust be magic.
Yes, Susie, I think you’re rigth!
One of the best aromas on earth is the awakening forest in the Spring! The red on the mushroom is stunning and you are right, the bright color is a warning not to eat it. My dad taught my brother and me which mushrooms were good to pick and which were not. The one in your picture he referred to as the Angel of Death because it is so toxic, yet so beautiful! Thank you for all your beautiful photos and videos!
That’s wild Josie! I didn’t even want to touch it, it gave off that stay away vibe. But Angel of Death is wonderfully dramatic and telling. What great knowledge to have that your father passed along to you.