Faerie House? Gnome Home? Just A Stinky Mushroom?

  Since I am back to being Queen of the Small Gardens instead of the Swamp Queen, I search for things to occupy the brain all within my realm.  This is getting exceedingly difficult since my realm now is quite small and devoid of the usual massive "rainforest" type plants.  Those perished with the winter freezes due to insufficient heat in the greenhouse.  (Never trust that flood lights can replace heat lamps.  They are not the same...but I used what I had on hand.)  That being the situation, I now have to search high and low for things to entertain myself.  As I slowly meandered the garden path, I felt depersonalized.  It almost seemed as if I did not belong here.  This was one of the first times ever that I overlooked what I told others to actually "see".  Something was just not right.  I entered the fenced vegetable plot that was usually filled with cabbages, broccoli and cauliflower heads just waiting to be harvested.  The rows sat empty....and sad.  Ok, so this was not helping my mood at all!  Everything needed to be fixed starting with my attitude!  That decided, I was determined to find that overlooked point of interest and, with it, rid myself of this almost feeling of self-pity!  Nope, that was not going to take hold and linger long.  It had to be remedied and fast!  I searched for that one elusive element that would set things right.

  That diversion came in the form of the lowly Clathrus Columnatus which is commonly known as a type of stinkhorn.  Yep.  One of those stinky mushrooms that most folks detest.  I admit to them not being a favorite of mine but this one bemused me.  I had found something that started the wheels of the brain to start a slow whir.  There was something about this stinkhorn that looked vaguely familiar.  I had to dig deep into the dusty corners of the mind...back behind the cobwebs and dust bunnies...to stumble upon a recollection of where I had encountered anything that triggered a slight memory of resemblance.  Then it hit me.  Way back in the day when I was a tot (eons ago), my Aunt Helen spent hours with me making faerie houses and gnome homes.  She had me convinced that these beings were real and lived among us all while unseen.  (I still kinda/sorta believe!)  We would create fantastical little houses from whatever was on hand and make pretty gardens of mosses, tiny flowers and pebbles to complete the perfect faerie/gnome paradise.  My found mushroom reminded me of those happiest of times spent in nature with a favorite aunt.  It was marvelous!  I could literally feel my doldrums being lifted and my spirits starting to soar again.  The Queen is back even if she has a smaller realm.  Let the imagination fly and let the kingdom flourish with magical and whimsical moments of joy and peace.

Smells from the Garden!

Just mentioning a rose garden conjures up memories of wonderful scents that float upon the breezes. I have about twenty-five rose bushes bordering the fences of an enclosed garden. This picture from earlier in the year shows some of the "antique" climbing roses that are on the fence. I do call this my "Rose Garden" even though there are blueberry bushes, herbs and daylilies mingled in with the roses. I love the little garden and in Spring, the area smells delightful. Even though it is far from Spring, today's walk brought back memories of odors all right..memories of not so wonderful odors. I keep the garden under the roses heavily mulched and that brings some unwanted guests. As I wandered about today, a nasty odor accosted me. Oh, yuck! Devil's Toadstool! Stinkhorn! King's Crown! Whatever you call them..they stink! Actually, these stinky things are Clathrus Columnatus, or the Columned Stinkhorn, They will pop up anywhere but seem to love mulch..and I have a lot of mulch! So I have a lot of stinkhorns. These things smell a lot like poop! And I am not particularly fond of stinky poop! I have been trying rid the yard of my Clathrus Columnatus by digging them out of the mulch and discarding them on the burn pile. Dumb! These things do not act like normal, old, run-of-the-mill mushrooms. They do not spread their little spore things by poofing them out like dragons breathing smoke. Oh, no...that would make it far to easy to eradicate them! Instead they get critters to do the dirty work for them. All that stink invites flies, gnats and crawly critters to dine upon the goo inside the arms of the fungus. Then these same creatures unwittingly plant more stinkhorns by..wait for it..pooping. Then a strange thought comes to mind...Why would anything want to eat something that smells so bad? Beats me..but they do and then when nature calls, more of these smelly entities are strewn throughout my gardens. I am so happy..right? Are you kidding? These things are awful. Anyway..as I said I have been trying to rid the yard of them but to no avail. So...I think I will embrace these as exotic additions to the garden! I will tell people that they are some strange beings that have taken up residence in the mulch. Perhaps if I can come up with a convincing story of how rare they are, no one will question the stench that bushwhacks the olfactory system. .... "Yes..these lovely fiery red 'shrooms are amazing!" "I searched high and low to find such exquisite specimens for my gardens!" "The Clathrus Columnatus is my pride and joy!"... Well, do you think that will work? Something tells me that it won't. Something tells me that no matter what I do these things will still vex me for years to come. Something tells me that perhaps I should just accept some of what nature throws at me and not complain. Or most likely, I will still hold my nose and dig the smelly things out of the garden all the while thinking I am doing something of some use. Yep, most likely.