Pray to the Moon when She is round,
Luck with you will then abound,
What you seek for shall be found
On the sea or solid ground.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Slimes: Let them in & they will change you.

Lycogala epidendrum, Wolf's Milk Slime
Lycogala epidendrum, Wolf's Milk Slime

It is raining again. Raining enough to make being Outside unpleasant for small, unprepared Changelings. I must remember to get him some wet weather gear because every minute we stay indoors, we are missing amazing things Outside...

Leocarpus fragilis, Insect-Egg Mass Slime
Leocarpus fragilis, Insect-Egg Mass Slime
No time for the internet during this foraging season. I can see that our Wheel has slipped into the frenzied season of berry picking & fungi hunting. This is a good year & the fruits of the forest abound in jumbo-sizes. I just ate my first wild oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) today -- angel-like anise-scented beauties. This rain will bring more. More of everything. 

But with all that the rain promises, that which I long to find most is a slime mold. Not enough of them this year it seems to me. So it made me incredibly happy to wander across this blog post by Heather at Say the Trees Have Ears:
My First Slime Mold: Last weekend I was wandering about in the wild corner of our yard.  This corner, down in the bottom corner of our yard, straddling the exa...
Physarum cinereum
Physarum cinereum
It's tough being a slime-whisperer without a slime. Every slime is beautiful, every slime is sacred. What a joy it is to read about the pleasure they have brought to another wanderer. I live vicariously through you. Thank you Heather... just remember, like your beloved lichens, if you let them in, they will change you



Just a few (of the many) slimes worth knowing:



3 comments:

Heather said...

I feel so honoured that my blog post touched you in that way! I must thank you and your blog as well for really pointing out to me the wonderful world of slimes, which I am just beginning to discover. Now that I have come across my first slime mold, I am sure that I will discover and meet many more as well. My first meeting with one was, perhaps, a bit awkward, for we had never met before, but with further meetings, I am sure that I will be able to become even better acquainted with the slimes that cross my path. "Let them in and they will change you" - surely that could be said for every creature that we meet in our wanderings, whether animal, plant, fungus, lichen, slime mold, or whatever.

I hope that you find some slimes yourself very soon, but even if you do not, I am very glad that my post has brightened your day and brought a little joy to you.

Heather Whether said...

This is amazing because when people ask me what "animal" I want to be, I say slime mold. Plant, animal, fungi - who is slime mold? Moving, setting roots, what is slime mold's way of living? Traveling plant? Animal with roots? I AM SLIME MOLD. Slime mold is one of the biggest powers of ambiguity we are delighted to know! (The "how do bumble bees fly?" question is another and I hope we never find out!) Slime mold is the perfect person embodying impermanence and internal integrity as the SAME THING! I am so happy you wrote this.

Moma Fauna said...

"...one of the biggest powers of ambiguity we are delighted to know!" Yes.

Oh, I love them. I have since happened upon two (different breeds) while foraging. So happy! :)

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