Amanita obsession

A Thanksgiving reunion with a friend and a chance discovery of some weird lumps at the side of the road started it. We were meandering happily to the Gumboot Cafe, she strolling, me scooting, not two minutes away from my house when something bright, bright red on the edge of the road caught our attention. We stopped to peer into the leaves and grass, and there they were, fascinating in their odd perfect roundness and shocking  colour. But we didn’t really have time for gazing at crazy mushrooms – limited moments of laughter and beer and catch-up were much more important – so Sandra snapped a quick phone photo, and we continued on to a perfect afternoon… but I knew I would need to go back for a closer look.

The next day, scooter and camera would be required. I am aware that a parked shoprider and a woman scrubbing around in the ditch is not an everyday occurrence, but in the Creek people really don’t make much of a fuss about these things, so I was happily undisturbed during my little photo session. I got some great shots and a nice wave from the bus driver. I may have been a tad bit close to the edge of the road.

It wasn’t enough, though – already growing bigger and so, so beautiful, not only did I sketch them, but I went back a third day as the cap was expanding. I used those shots to make a transfer for my ideabook.

I intend to keep going back for as long as they are there. These spectacular gifts on the side of the road may not appear again, I have never seen them before… maybe those people who can roam this rainforest see them every year, but for me on my scooter at the bottom of my road – they are a quite rare and wonderous sight. Magic, indeed.