Remembering Wayne ...

(photo by Clytie Garretson)

Wayne was nearing retirement age when I knew him back in the early 1980's ...
Wayne was a hard worker -- a man of few words. When he did speak, it was always profound.

It was late Autumn in Washington state, and we were bemoaning the loss of daylight.

"It's dark when we come to work, pretty soon it will be dark when we go home," said Chuck.
"Pretty soon we will be living our lives in the dark!"

Wayne looked up from his work.
"Yep," he said quietly ... "Just Like A Mushroom".

And he went back to his work.

Now, when autumn steals the daylight hours, and the darkness of night seems to last forever ... I remember Wayne.
And I think of mushrooms.

What the Horse Ate ...

No words really needed here, right?

Snicker.

Mushrooms, Before and After Frost

I found this delightful family of mushrooms last month near an old wooden pallet.

The same family, after a few frigid nights and frosty mornings.

The circle of life.

Rise and Fall of a Mushroom Family

I found this little family of mushrooms out by the driveway. I took their portrait, then hurried away to find my sister, who was part of the work party cleaning up my parents house.

We rushed back to where I had found them.

And ...

Sniff, this was all that was left.
Sigh.
Snort.
Mmmmmm I'm getting hungry.
Mushroom omelet anyone?

More Mushrooms

I found these tiny little beauties at Memorial Park, tucked up on a hillside near one of the picnicking areas. I love their color.

If you look closely you can see 3 mushrooms in this picture. They were in a straight row going from largest to smallest.

Oriental Mushroom Dude

My imagination is probably working overtime here, but when I look at this picture I see the seated profile view of an old Asian man wearing a sun hat, his (cedar sprig) arms crossed in front of his chest. Otherwise, it's just a random mushroom I found in the woods near the stream.

Shy Little Mushroom

There has to be a story behind this shy mushroom! I will have to go for a walk tomorrow and search for the story in the woods where fairies play and gnomes stand guard ... yeah, that's what I'll do.

Mushroom family

Twigs catching in my hair, I tramped through the woods, searching for Spring ... I didn't find it. But nestled amidst the chaos left over from this Winter's fierce storms, I found something else.

Mushrooms were everywhere ... a few caught my imagination. A family huddling together amidst the frozen ferns. A lone mushroom, stalk gnarled and twisted, standing tall.

Spring will come soon enough ... I love the season that is.

Mother and Child Mushrooms

I went for a short walk in the woods today and found this adorable pair of mushrooms. It looks like the smaller one is hiding, and seeking protection behind the larger one.