Saprophytic Confabulations

Image © PeteM2020

Mushrooming was a part of my childhood’s annual autumn ritual; foraging being integral to the genetic makeup of most Scandinavians and East Europeans. For a few brief weeks, the fungi were eagerly sought, hunted and consumed in large quantities. 


Despite the purported magical properties and olfactory delights of those musky smelling specimens, they never fired off any of my culinary or poetic synapses. For me the memories are instead of fire in the belly and the painful production of large quantities of methane and related gasses. Darwin may have had an explanation for this anomaly!

Pappus

Image © PeteM2020

Whilst rummaging through the undergrowth (see previous blog entry) I found this beauty - a Dandelion seed head.  Photographed up close and personal it reveals some fascinating structures – mix in some Photoshop trickery and quite a surreal image is the result.

Petals and sepals

Backlit petals have a certain magical quality – but you most often have to lie on the ground to catch it!  Worth the effort though. 

Image © PeteM2020

Whilst working on the image in PS, I was uncertain of how much to retain of the striations on the sepals. But, heck, it’s a flower picture after all, so some reality has to be retained – or does it?