Transforming "Spiritual Warfare": Day 9 (Washington)

Maryhill Stonehenge, Maryhill, Wasington. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

As far as I can tell, the majority of Washington state is sitting on top of an enormous, mostly moss-covered mycelial mat. This makes my job easy today. Instead of narrowing down to a specific species or genera, I am just making a broad appeal to the Great Mat that lurks beneath. Transform! Transmute! Make rich loamy goodness from energetic nonsense! 

TY Wikimedia.

Since that was so easy, I thought I would share some of the awesomeness I discovered while investigating the state of Washington. Pictured here (see also above) is the Maryhill Stonehenge, a life-size, astronomically accurate replica of Stonehenge. What makes it even better is that it is also a memorial to soldiers who gave their lives to preserve our freedom. The dedication reads: "In memory of the soldiers of Klickitat County who gave their lives in defense of their country. This monument is erected in the hope that others inspired by the example of their valor and their heroism may share in that love of liberty and burn with that fire of patriotism which death can alone quench." Do you feel a pilgrimage coming on?

http://www.psms.org

Along a more fungal vein, the Puget Sound Mycological Society is having its 48th annual Wild Mushroom Show along with a juried Art Contest/Exhibit this weekend, how excellent! I am spore-green with envy -- it makes me rue the brevity of the mushroom season up here in the Last Frontier. (We expect snow any day now.) You can see some nice fungal artwork on past posters along with photos of the event here. I think I feel yet another pilgrimage coming on...

www.amandafiebing.com

I also found that fungi are popular with Washington artists. How much do I love that? There is a Seattle artist named Amanda Fiebing who creates felted artworks, among them amazingly accurate & to scale mushrooms. Read more about her mushroom works at her website. 

Finally, I had to include this guy: Trevor Zhou, a man of many talents. Mostly, I became enamoured with his "Mushroom Project": a mission in which he created "tons of ceramic mushrooms... placing them all over the world..." You can see his whimsical mushrooms & the places they have been left here. 

trevorzhou.com