Dragonflies & Lilies

Last fall, I hiked a north Pacific Coast trail hoping to identify medicinal mushrooms. The sky, visible in occasional breaks through the cathedral-like trees, was pearly grey and the fine drizzle which sieved through the forest canopy refreshed. I decided to rest by a massive cedar, fallen long ago, and now decaying into the spongy forest floor. The cedar’s broad surface was covered in deep, moist mosses and fan-like ferns. As I took in the beauty of the old growth forest which surrounded me, I noticed several large, cream coloured, mushrooms, growing ‘shelf-like’ on a nearby tree. (Continued)