The Elves Were Dancing!

  Fairy Rings, Elf Rings, Sprite Rings...they are all names for a large circle of mushrooms that spring up in yards and fields. These usually make their appearance during a rainy season and can reach thirty to forty feet in diameter.  Once established, the rings will reappear with each rainy season during warm months.  

  I was out meandering the hillside when I noticed a long row of mushrooms.  The row curved into a huge arc bending around the trees and down under the brush.  I bent down to see just how far the row went and then realized that my row was actually a large circle...a Fairy Ring or Elf Ring!  How big?  Well, I would have had to climb up on the rooftop to get a full view of the thing!  It was huge and half hidden beneath bushes but was still a circle.  Those little mystical folks were busy!

  There are several folktales attached to these phenomenons.  One being that the rings are guarded by giant toads that would devour anyone stepping inside the circle.  Oops!  I guess I can debunk this as pure myth as I was slapdab in the middle of the circle before I realized it was even there.  Another tale says that elves made the rings by dancing during the rain.  Hmm...could be.  I was not out there during the recent downpours to watch for any elves.  If there were any dancing, they sure got their exercise with the size of this ring!  Yet another tale tells us that the rings grow above an underground fairy village.  Hmmm...I always figured there was something under this hill!  Now we know!  The circle of mushrooms edges the village and lets us know to be careful while digging there.  Yup!  Sounds logical!  

  Then, again, the spores of the mushrooms probably just get spread from one place to another until there is a vast circle that reseeds itself over the years.  The spores keep spreading outward and the ring keeps growing larger and larger.  Scientifically, this makes sense but you have to admit that it is more fun to believe the mystical versions.