After the Rain

Everything is happier when we get a good rain.  As we are heading away from May with its generous chances for precipitation, I wanted to stop a moment and reflect on how lovely it was to live in a world that was, for once, well wetted.

The plants, the wildlife, the gardeners, everything and everybody responds enthusiastically to a thorough soaking.

The overcast skies delivering drenching rain create other opportunities, including a subdued appreciation of ordinarily brilliant blooms.

A good rain in concert with the residual moisture in its wake, gently coaxes out the rarely seen.

Including a stunning display growing on the stump and root remnants of a hackberry tree shown below.   

I don't know what type of mushrooms these are, but I'm lost in admiration of their exquisite forms.  If ever a fungus deserved the designation "floral", these certainly fit the bill.  Another hackberry trunk nearby served in past years as a home styled bottle tree.  I share that to explain the appearance of the cork mulch. 

As has happened before with birds and bees, butterflies and moths, I searched high and low to identify this fungi without definitive results.  I sense a new obsession taking form....