Amanita muscaria, my favourite mushroom. So easily identifiable, and so beautiful. This wonderful example was from a wander on Vancouver Island, but the muscaria in Steveston Village are just starting to pop up through the substrate.

Woodsy ways, October days.

Douglas-fir cone mushrooms (Strobilurus trullisatus) grow almost exclusively out the of old, decaying pine cones from Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii).

For my eyes only.

And so, it starts. Our first Amanita muscaria of the season, here on Vancouver Island. The mushrooms here are much farther along than the mainland. Truly a striking fungus.

There were days when we wandered in the woods, the rains having brought out all the mushrooms, and all the beasts. Simple joys and rainforest scents fill my heart.

Today we respected the spectral moss ghouls.

Golden hour, and all her charms.

“One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.”

The rains have arrived in the village, and with it comes more opportunities to capture the magic of light through vintage lenses.

Just a bit of texture added for interest.

One of the most beautiful sunsets yet here in the village.

Summer ways, golden hour, my world wrapped in a hammock.

And just like that, it seems that the harbingers of autumn have arrived in the village. I am waiting on my favourites, the Amanita muscaria.

Pretty-eye, pirate smile. You’ll marry a music man.

Candid shot on the edge of the world. Vintage 50mm f1.4 Super Takumar providing the classic bokeh.

The cheapest circus whiskey, sweetened with clover honey.

I am right on target.

So simple, so perfect!

Find the gold the day brings. Contentment can be seen in the golden hour.

Island ways. Off-leash, on target. We are blessed, and grateful.

Gorgeous!

Sunrise in the village, through a layer of wildfire smoke. The light where we live is magical.

Gorgeous!!!

A portrait of beauty, the woman who still takes my breath away. That she is my bride, and that we live so close to this spot is a source of contentment and joy. Vintage 50mm f1.4 Super Takumar lens.

Gonna have to be a solid 2 for me. Dreams as crooked as a split rail fence, and schemes so far into that realm of failure that whole villages have perished in shame.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Gorgeous!!!

Late blooming cyclamen in the last minutes of the day. These flowers are oft said to resemble a grouping of butterflies. Beauty is everywhere for those whose eyes are open to it.

“Virginia in the song,
the spark of love had not left yet.
the moon and the stars
had convinced oxygen to protect it.
oxygen raged, and said
why this spark?
when flames need feeding?
patience said the moon,
love has her reasons.”

@cardiffcraig - Virginia In The Song

Tragic comedy. Dark.