The Cycle of Life and Decay: a Collage for LMAC #79

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(Edited)

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I have created a collage inspired by @shaka's prompt for LMAC #79, although I am not one of the contestants. Every week I find the process of interpreting @shaka's template photo an enriching experience.

@shaka's Template Photo

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Not only is making a collage a creative exercise, it also gives rise to trains of thought that might not have come to me otherwise. This week I saw ruins, and imagined the future that might evolve from the ruins. Life, ultimately, rises from decay. So I started to read about the cycle of decay and life.

Fungi are foot soldiers in the process of decay.

The Fungus Fomes Fomentarious
fungus on tree Fomes_fomentarius_(Zunderschwamm).jpg
Image credit: Olga Ernst. Used under a CC 4.0 license.

Fomes Fomentarious favors hardwood trees. According to the website MushroomExpert.com, this fungus may be found on birch and beech trees in the north temperate zones of North America. The fungus causes white rot, which may eventually kill a tree.

In 1991, the 5000-year-old mummified Iceman was discovered in the Austrian Alps. With his remains was discovered Fomes Fomentarious. The Iceman was carrying the fungus, possibly to use as 'tinder'. The fungus burns well and could have been used to transport fire.

Hypholoma Fasciculare Queteraro
fungus saprophytic Hypholoma_fasciculare_Queteraro.jpg
Image credit: Alan Rockeffer. Used under a CC 4.0 license

This fungus is called a saprophyte because it feeds on dead material. It is an essential player in returning nutrients to the soil. The fungus is widely distributed in cold areas. Hypholoma fasciculare grows in clusters. Do not eat! It is poisonous.

Panus Conchatus
fungus Panus-conchatus.jpg
Image credit: Richard Sullivan. Used under CC 3.0 license.

This fungus also grows on rotting material. It is also characterized as a saprophyte. The fungus grows on (dead) hardwoods in northern and central Europe, and can also be found in North America. Panus Conchatus is also called the Lilac Oysterling because of its often purplish cap.

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According to the website, It's Alive, there are 70,000 known species of fungus on the planet. However, it is estimated that there are at least 20 times as yet undiscovered. Fungi not only break down nonliving organisms, but also form symbiotic relations with living organisms. They are a vital part of the life cycle on earth.

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My Collage

I used pictures from https://purepng.com/ in constructing my collage.

trees
bush with pink flowers
purple plant
scraggly bush
wolf
wolf 2
wolf 3
green snake
coral snake
hawk
crow
turtle

Mushroom accent in the blog came from cafepampas on pixabay

As always, I had fun. Thank you @shaka, for the opportunity and for doing the work it takes to make the LMAC community a viable, welcoming place.

The rules for LMAC may be found at @shaka's blog.
Our school, run by the inimitable @quantumg may be found here.
And our Discord Channel is open for community members to touch base.

Good luck, to everyone!

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14 comments
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Como siempre nos traes además de un hermoso collage, una muy provechosa información 🤗🤗

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You make a delightful forest in front of the crumbling castle A.G. Amazing how you built it up and added the birds and animals for the final touch. Lovely art as always.🌸

I did get my plifer vaccination. My arm was a little sore the next day but no other problems. My booster shot will be down the road. I don’t have the date yet.

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(Edited)

Hello my friend, @redheadpei,

I did enjoy tumbling that castle and rebuilding it :) Like a kid, I guess, playing world building. Thank you for your kind words about my collage. There is no way for me to stop. I"m addicted. My husband reminds me when a new one is coming out.

Thank you my friend, for you generosity.

I'm very glad you got that vaccine. What a relief, isn't it? Feels like freedom. I know they are not 100%, but still. Then next one will be a breeze :))

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Most welcome A.G. 😊

Yes it does feel good to have the vaccine. I know there is a lot of hoopla against it but what else do we have to help against Covid-19?

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Hello friend I hope this is good, as always excellent your collage, with a review of the decomposition of organisms such as fungi. These collage are an inspiration for you to investigate and for us to learn more every day with your investigative work.

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Hello my friend @cetb2008. Thank you for stopping by. I did like learning about the fungi. Strange kind of plant to me. I don't know much about them. Isn't LMAC always an adventure?

Have a great, safe week with your family my friend.

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It is an adventure of much learning through your publications, God bless you

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Very well illustrated, my friend. And as always, it's a very interesting edu collage.

Bushcrafters and hikers still use the Fomes Fomentarious today. I knew that. But not that it has been done for so long. Fascinating how long knowledge survives, isn't it.

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Thank you my friend. I had fun with this illustration, not so much torture. That png link really helped.

I never heard of Fomes Fomentarious, though I did know about the Iceman.

Have a great night.

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Congratulations! A very good display of what happens to old castles and forts that no one cares about. They are overgrown with shrubs and grass.
Btw: I read somewhere that LIDAR technology is successfully used in recognizing such objects.

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Dear @agmoore, what a beautiful collage. If one understands the cycle of life, there are many perspectives that open up. It is obvious, of course, as it happens with the huge number of fungi that remain to be discovered, that we know very little of the workings of this cycle.
I mean that if one places oneself in the position of the one who tries to understand, one gains a lot of perspective on ignorance and, therefore, on how valuable every bit of knowledge is. I have not explained myself very well, but I leave it there, because it points to where I want to go. That's the beauty I see in your collage-post: the collage portrays the happiness (and ferocity) of everything that grows, and the article explains how a tiny element of that cycle is a fundamental piece of the beginning of the cycle, and everything looks to @shaka's ruin, the end, and back to the beginning.
A big hug!

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the collage portrays the happiness (and ferocity) of everything that grows, and the article explains how a tiny element of that cycle is a fundamental piece of the beginning of the cycle, and everything looks to @shaka's ruin, the end, and back to the beginning.

Yes! Thank you. It is ferocious, and beautiful, if we see everything, including ourselves as part of that cycle. There is a wholeness to life, and death that makes sense.

You expressed it beautifully. Thank you for coming by, and for your insightful comment.

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