With Family in Laytonville, CA; Hugging
Wednesday, December 31, 2008

So Long 2008

Our last day of 2008 was a day for tiny fungi and towering redwoods.

Shortly after breakfast, while Loren was busy taking a photo out the front yard

Libbe came in from the garden

and announced that she'd seen a crowd of new mushrooms in the "yard" between the house and the bedroom.



While "chatting" with Jay earlier we had mentioned that an outing was planned to a couple of redwood groves. While on our walks we saw a large number of unusual mushrooms and other fungi. The light was dim and most were difficult to photograph. However, a few…
bright yellow(!):

a tiny cluster:

working on a twig:

standing dark brown in a deep green lawn:

spreading its umbrella over the fallen leaves

three distinct varieties (individuals) in the moss growing on a tree:

Loren took us down to one of the forks of the Eel river

where we took our photo

and did a little exploring

and enjoying

The river had brought a number of unusual rocks together

and split others apart

Messages for a new Gregorian Year?

We were not sure how to interpret the little yellow foot on the post: "hop!" or "go barefoot!"

Nor did we understand whether the dog (or bear?) was supposed to only use its right paws:

Jay had asked Mark to hug a redwood tree for him

and Mark and Debbie paused to pose at the opening of a redwood, that, even in the dim light it is possible to see straight through:

As the year came to an end we hoped that the confusing signs we had seen would be counterbalanced by the strength, stability and straightness of the trees we had come to visit and appreciate.

We returned home, awed.
We shared a simple meal, tasted more chocolate and once again, talked about more interesting subjects until late in the evening. We watched a movie, and were barely aware that the hour of the start of a new calendar year had passed.

start || back || That's all.