Mushroom - Surviving through football season

It is November in Northwest and it has been sunny every day since last week. I feel guilty if I don’t take my gear out and shoot a few. 

 

Fall colors are so attractive here because of the massive forest and big varieties of trees. Spring and summer are of course brightly beautiful.  With her stunning outlook, fall is romantic in sunshine and mysterious in foggy and frosty days.  How would nature weave layers of colors without yarns and needles? And, the color palette of this organic tapestry is constantly changing. You can shoot the same spot in different time and day and come home with varying images each time.

Colors, colors everywhere, but I am singing blues because it is now college football season. If you are a football fan and you enjoy watching every game with your husband, good luck, you are doing well. This post may not be for you. If you are suffering football phobia syndrome because of its home invasion, like me, then read on.

First of all, I want to say that I have occasionally watched football games at home and also made it to the stadium. I even hosted the gathering for fans to watch games in our house sometimes. Because I feel I should try to participate and be nice about it. However, when your house starts to become second football field and your large TV screen is constantly showing running players and helmets, I found that very annoying.

Sports is such a big business in this country. If you live in a big city where diversified resources are offered, you have many other things to engage and sports is only one of them, great, life is interesting and balanced. If  you are in a small town, there is not much choice for leisure and sports event becomes the single significant event. I think that’s why football teams from less-populated states (and rich schools who provide large scholarship to recruit ‘the’ players) perform better because they have only one focus and they have die-hard hometown supporters.

Deep breath with my flower before I go on....

I live in Oregon and Ducks have been outstanding. As a matter of fact, I even have my emotion attached to the team and the players.  There are many nice kids and they work so hard. And, I love to take pictures for my family when they are all ducked out, fully dressed in Duck outfit. But,....

Football season begins in September and ends in November, then, there are playoffs. By the time when you think you are getting a break and you can finally use that large screen to watch a movie. There are still Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and BCS National Championship. And, there are endless reruns. It is endless, forever. Scheduled tournaments and their affiliated bowls have taken up too much space in my home and my life. I am football phobia.

If you research online, you will find all kinds of Survival tips for women during football season. This tells you how many women are suffering and sacrificing while their guys can only hear touch-downs. Grab your credit card and out for a shopping spree? Watch games with your husband and become a tailgate buddies? Shut your eyes and doors? Turn on the other TV in the house and have a volume contest? Be an old-fashioned obedient wife, swallow it and shed tears behind the door? None of the options sound tempting to me.

I came across an article. One lady was upset at her man that she stopped cooking his favorite dishes. Sound like an unharmful idea, but I think I should bring it to the next level, i.e. cooking something he does not like. My husband does not like mushrooms. Period. Every once a while, if I sneaked in a few tiny sliced pieces into his plate, he would find them and pick them out without fail.  If I make a Chinese multi mushrooms veg plate with lots of chili sauce, I think I will certainly get his attention. He does not eat mushrooms nor the spicy food.  I laughed and laughed like a devil, and thought it is a great idea.

I walked out of the house to get some fresh air and remembered that I have been wanting to sweep the leaves in the yard. There is whole truckload of fallen oak leaves, where do I begin? I cruised the yard trying to figure out my work load and strategy. Having been working on my trip photo book and going through thousands of photos, I cannot remember when I was last working in the yard. Mushrooms are literally everywhere and quite a few varieties, too.  I have not seen so many mushrooms in our small yard. I decided to take some pictures.

These wild mushrooms are growing down the ground, on gravels.  They are so low that I can not hang my camera low enough for the angle I wanted and the gravels are so rough that I was not willing to crawl down to break my skin. I tried to shoot them from above, but they all just look like mini umbrella, no distinction. There is no tree stump or other interesting backdrop to make the mushrooms pop.  I would not use these un-tested and un-certified mushrooms to make dinner, but I wanted to shoot them before I get rid of them.

I pulled them out of ground and turned them upside down for my shots. Strong oder of raw wood and dirt was overwhelming when I flipped them. The fine texture under the umbrella looks interesting for photos, but the bottom packed with sand and gravel grossed me out. I cannot explain why, these mushrooms suddenly looked like rotten wood or fungus to me. I cannot believe that this is the stuff that I have loved so much. I could not wait to get rid of them.

I racked them into a big pile and dumped them in garbage can. I did not touch them with my hands, I wore my garden gloves.  And, you know, there won’t be any spicy mushroom dinner any more, I was mushroom out.  I was like a devil and now an idiot.  

Can you tell even that creature is questioning my wisdom?  He came to munch my flowers and I would usually chase him away in a heart beat.  But today I looked at him seeking for his approval.  

I learned a lesson from the mushrooms. The thing I loved turns into something I despise just in that split second. Love or hate, it is all in your mind. I think change is my mood, not mushroom. Mushroom, the stuff my husband hates, came to rescue him from eating a nasty dinner and future torment because I have the feeling that I won't buy fresh mushroom for a long time.

Can you believe this?

Sun is smiling at me sarcastically. It is the most gorgeous fall that I have ever experienced since I moved to Oregon. It is worth the celebration. Below is the sun-bathed maple tree. I love the color contrast. 

So, what's the conclusion about football addiction and football phobia?  I am going to chase sunshine for more images before I come back to answer this question......

A side note:  Spicy mushroom dinner is fictional, for your entertainment only.

All he needs to do is not to eat. It is not a good idea, but devil thinks he is smart. LOL.