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Funguses are part of nature’s cycling action for returning old, dead woody material back to the ecosystem. Far more unusual that expected, some researchers at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada) recently discovered that white pine trees have an interesting symbiotic relationship with a certain type of fungus, -a fungus that actually eats bugs! The Laccaria bicolor fungus preys upon insects to extract their nitrogen, which the trees need. In exchange, the trees trade carbon to the fungus for the nitrogen the fungus supplies. Nutrient cycling can be more strange than we have believed. Not only are the fungus basically eating protein, but so are the trees!

I Think I Saw This in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

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Okay, -this just looks like Ewok village homes to me. Ewoks are those little fuzzy teddy bear warrior things from the Endor moon, in the George Lucas movie “Return of the Jedi.”

“Excuse Me, -Is This a Piece of Your Brain?”

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I love this one. Anytime I see anything that even remotely resembles a human brain, I can hear the voice of John Cleese from the comedy series “Faulty Towers” whom in one episode having picked up a piece of lint from the carpet near a particular snooty female guest (whom apparently was at that moment having difficulty with her hearing aid,) asked her rather loudly something to the effect of “I do say, -is this a piece of your brain?”

Something From a Disney Movie, Maybe?

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I can hear the music from the movie “Fantasia” and in my mind can see those mushroom people (apparently in the movie, these were Chinese mushrooms) dancing, spinning and skating around. Very magical.

Nature’s Canvas and Art Supplies

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Back in New York State, we would snap these things off of large dead Elm trees. They were fresh, moist and semi-soft but firm on the underside. Using a dulled nail point, wooden stick like a chopstick or the wrong end of an artist’s paint brush, we would scratch images and stuff on these. The fungii would eventually dry and become hard, but the dark, almost black lines would remain against the pale white background. Trace-art, on fungus.

Some diluted washy-paint would finish the artwork, painting the sky or the distant mountains, etc.

Miniature Forests of Fantasy

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I love mosses and mossy banks. Walking on these barefooted, feeling the moist springiness beneath my feet. The smell was amazingly clean, crisp and fresh. The air rich in negative ions, healthy and it just smelled oh so good! The forest is a wonderful place to be. I am longing for Springtime already, -and it’s not even really winter yet!