Before His Time
These few seedlings burst from the ground full of vigour; striving for the light. Now they suffer and die as a multitude of fungal threads converge on them from below, shredding them internally and eating them alive before erupting through their dead tissue to sow the seeds of destruction for the next plants that land in their ground.
Unfortunately for the plants, I was their destroyer. My karmic load must be building up. Only the strong will survive, and evolution is my day job.
A hand held macro shot.
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jcmontgomery
I keep reading and re-reading your description as it is so well written, and descriptive, I could swear I was reading a flash fiction piece. Yeah, I know…I’m weird. LOL
I also like how you composed this shot….the foreground blurred contrasting the main subject in the center enough so that it does not overwhelm the overall picture.
Damian replied
Thanks Jo :)
I try not to think of what it must be like to be one of these plants and die in this way, but I had a go with the description, LOL! I’m glad you liked that as well as the image :)
MissKristy
Gorgeous shot. Like jc, I was drawn to your words… “Evolution is my day job” ..this near brought tears to me eyes. I am such a softie lol
Damian replied
Thanks Kristy, you’re wonderful, LOL :)
Luckily a lot of them do survive (well, maybe about 10%. Okay, not that many…), and I look after the survivors like they’re my babies :)
Leoni Venter
Great shot, great description! I have to admit, I like fungi :) I like plants too, but fungi are endlessly fascinating :D
Damian replied
Thanks Lee, me too :)
This one is Fusarium, so only spores and survival structures, no large fruiting bodies. But it’s been described as so versatile that it could survive in space, and has killed humans before (imagine the threads taking over someones lungs…!)
EdgeOfReality
My mothers friend had half a lung removed due to a fungal infection. Scarey stuff.
Damian replied
Oh, sorry to hear it! Fungi don’t usually cause many problems for people, compared to bacteria or viruses, but they’re still pretty scary things to imagine happening!
Matt Bottos
I love your macro shots Damian. It really reminds me to take a moment to look at whats going on a bit more. You have created an amazing image & writing from something that I would never have noticed… well done
Damian replied
Thanks Shredman! Life at this level is pretty brutal, which can be inspiring, LOL!
Crockpot
So poetic! Great capture – both visually and aurally (?) !!!
Damian replied
Thanks Lorie, LOL, glad you think so :)
Firedrake
Something soft for the bugs to sleep on?
Damian replied
LOL, living threads woven to make bug hammocks. They’d be great until they bug tried to leave…!
dirtman
Who’d have thought work could inspire in this way? Not me! I loves the macro though—maybe, on reflection, that’s why we’re in this sort of business.
Damian replied
LOL, work can inspire me in sooo many ways! Usually it sends me into writing dark, stabbing-filled stories, heheh! But now it’s spring and everything’s beautiful, LOL!
This sort of work has sustained my interest in where I am at the moment, that’s true. With this pic, I was really happy that I could capture the hyphal strands of the fungus. You should see it at its real size :)