Inspirations- Forms and Textures in the Late Winter Forest

A pleasant distraction for anxious minds- enjoy 😊

I think the best treatment for anxiety is without a doubt une promenade dans la forêt- and I’ve managed to get several in these last few weeks of an unseasonably warm winter- which was really more like 4 months of early April.

Towards February some interesting things start blooming- long before anything green has awoken from its hibernation…

Yes these strange fruiting bodies are real- and I did not exaggerate the colors-

I just noticed these fungi “blooming” a few years ago- there were just a handful popping up from fallen branches here and there- half hidden under the leaf litter. And every year since their numbers have grown.

Now every year- usually starting in early February- the forest floor is carpeted with their intense, almost fluorescent, scarlet hues. literally they looked like they were squeezed out of a tube of Cadmium Red paint 🤗

Other interesting fungal forms start sprouting up as winters grip loosens- like these witches butter fungi-

And of course the mosses and lichen make use of the abundant light before the leafy canopy blocks it all out-

I love how the lichens and moss glow on the dark blue limestone outcrops – esp after a good rain. These encrusted rocks probably look very similar to when they were forming under the Cambrian seas some 490 MYA.

*Stay Inspired*Stay Safe* Get some fresh air- if you can 🤞