A South Estonian Chanterelle Contemplation

Early September.
24 nautical miles south-east from home base.

The objective was modest: find a few chanterelles for toast if nothing else.

The forest appeared cooperative.

At first, there was mostly forest.

Pine trunks. Moss. Fallen branches. Wet ground. Greens and browns without any particular reason to stop.

Then something yellow.

A chanterelle.

Then another.

And another.

At some point I realized I was no longer looking at quite the same forest I had entered.

Nothing around me had become more yellow. The mushrooms had not suddenly appeared. But certain shapes and colours had begun separating themselves from everything around them.

What had been moss became places to inspect.

What had been forest floor became possibilities.

And then the effect escaped the original mission.

A strange yellow growth around a tree caught my attention. Tiny dark-red mushrooms appeared in the moss. Things entirely unrelated to chanterelles started asking for a closer look.

Perhaps this is one of the peculiarities of looking closely.

At first, you think you are getting better at finding what you are looking for.

Then you begin finding things you weren’t looking for at all.

I had gone into the forest looking for a few chanterelles.

What changed first was not the forest.

^^^ No proper cameras or lens used here.

In. Out. Return. (Slightly changed.)