Wonder is the heaviest element on the periodic table. Even a tiny fleck of it stops time.
Diane Ackerman
After five days up on the North Shore I’m noticing that words for a blog are hard to find. Lumbering along rocky beaches, comforted and exhilarated by booming waves breaking on the shore, gazing out at the joining of lake and sky, hiking in woods and along rushing rivers, watching eagles and hawks soar in the cool, brisk air—all inspired silence that I am reluctant to dispel.
The surprise on this trip were mushrooms—mushrooms everywhere. Though we visited places we had been before, we saw mushrooms this time that we had never seen. And once we began to see mushrooms, we saw them all over. Amazed at the variety and beauty thriving in just a small area, we took lots of photos. I share some of them with you, knowing that the photos cannot fully display their artistry, or convey our excitement at finding mushrooms tucked under evergreens, hiding amidst grasses, or poking out of rotten stumps or lichen-covered stone. We felt like kids on a treasure hunt.
Our wonder rejuvenated us. I hope you too find them wondrous and rejuvenating.
(To see larger versions of the photos click on them.)
They are so much like us: huge variety, colors, shapes. And they all seek to thrive in different environments: on trees, hiding under leaves, blending with grasses, sitting with moss….
Yes! So true, Joan!
Thank you for this reflective respite.
I find much comfort in the affirmation of life’s miracle between the small yet vastly important connection of Earth & Sky.
Yes, not only wonder but comfort, too…thank you for helping me see that, Janet.