Crumbling

There is a tendency to look at the "pretty" things: the fresh green leaves, the dewy flowers, the blue skies and billowing clouds. Sometimes, though, I stop to look at things falling apart.

Like these dead branches and stumps.

Pine tree, crumbling but still standing.

Stump, spilling its innards,

Dead stick and cones in the duff.

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Acostumbramos mirar las cosas bellas: las hojas nuevas, verdes; las flores con sus colores frescas, el cielo azul y las nubes blancas, como almohadas. Pero de vez en cuando se me ocurre fijarme en cosas que se están desbaratando.

Como estos troncos y palos muertos.

Lichen, mushrooms

Lichen on a dead branch

Showing a hint of green after the rain.

I was looking for mushrooms. It's been a long, dry, hot summer, but now that the rain is back, they should be popping up all over. I found only one small patch, although I poked through duff and moss and under dead branches everywhere I walked. The mushroom eaters found it first, though.

Shelf mushroom about the size of a quarter.