Back To The Small Gardens

   Way deep in the dark forest that surrounds the depths of the Bayou, is a mystical, magical world that often goes unseen.  I wish I could tell you some incredible story that took place there today but that is not happenin', folks.  Instead, you will have to marvel at the mystical, magical world of the gardens.  A minor setback in the health kept me from venturing far from the place.  Son objects to me wandering off by myself if/when the body is catawampus.  So, I meandered the Small Gardens once again and was reminded of how I reigned as Queen here for several months.  This was my realm.  Today, it was once again.

  During the stroll, I did manage to find several interesting spots.  One was by far the most intriguing and could have very well been seen in that descriptive place in the opening sentence.   In the midst of a dead Black Gum Tree, I found a most beautiful (to me) cluster of shelf mushrooms that were bordered by some similarly colored clump mushrooms.  This seemed to be the perfect spot for the fungi to thrive.  It was damp, dark and secluded.  It could have been the unseen world that included gnomes, faeries and elves!  (Yeah, when feeling decrepit, the brain turns to a fantasyland to compensate.  Since long physical hikes are out of the question, I tend to travel in the mind.)

  In reality, the mushrooms were breaking down the dead wood.  They hasten the decay, then the nutrients go back into the soil to be reused by new plants. The stump of the dead Black Gum Tree has been at the edge of the gardens for some years. I never removed it as numerous birds used it as a feeding spot.  A plethora of insects tunnel in the rotted wood drawing the birds.  Now, it is the mushrooms turn to feed upon the old tree.  Life goes on in one form or another.