Mushrooms

Ephemeral fruits

sprouting from damp, autumn soil

– otherworldly.

Notes: I went for a walk in the woods last weekend, and it was mushroom season! So many mushrooms were popping up from the forest floor – they are magical – as if from another world. When I was an undergraduate student, I had a choice between taking a Mycology class by George Barron* (at the University of Guelph), or an Entomology class. I selected the latter and that choice was one small decision that had a significant impact on my life, since my love of entomology (well, arachnology) was certainly fueled in part by that course. George Barron, however, was unbelievably enthusiastic about mushrooms, and he spend a good half hour or more with me (a naïve undergraduate student at the time), discussing the world of mycology and why it is such an important world to know better. That conversation has always stuck with me, even after almost three decades – he was so generous with his time, and so inspiring. So, I like mushrooms** even though my knowledge is limited. They really are incredible, wouldn’t you say? The colours, shapes, and unpredictability of their lives. And they serve such an important ecological function. It was very pleasant to draw the mushrooms you see above, but in truth, they are not depicting a specific type of mushroom – they are just mushrooms. I also ran into the same problem as last week – I did two different panels of mushrooms in my sketchbook, and couldn’t decide which to post, so I have posted them both for you. I hope you enjoy!

* George Barron is the author of my favourite field guide to Mushrooms.

** Even though I like mushroom, I don’t generally eat the ones I find in the wild because unless you are truly a skilled mycologist, what you eat may be poisonous – so be careful!