Purple Pinwheel in a Nameless Valley

Walking in a valley this afternoon was quite tiring. But it's good for my body because I rarely exercise.

Yeah, I seldom do sports activities, for example, jogging like people do in the morning, or at least on weekends in city parks or around the reservoir in the suburbs. So I replace exercise with photography activities in nature at least two or three times a week. It's just as sweaty as jogging, and I like it better.

Because today is Friday, I chose to hunt for wild mushrooms in a valley that I don't know the exact name of. What is certain is that the distance from my town to there is approximately 5 kilometers. This is the perfect location for a mushroom walk in the rainy season, and you can enjoy the cool, pollution-free mountain breeze.

As expected, we finally found what we were looking for. This time, it's purple. Yeah, the purple pinwheel (Marasmius haematocephalus)!

This is a kind of fungus that is not common because it only exists in certain environments; it only occurs in lush forests where the ground is covered by a thick litter of fallen leaves.

Most purple pinwheels tend to grow solitary, although some grow more than one, a pair, or three. But I rarely noticed any of them clustered together like the orange pinwheel.

The dim atmosphere in the valley forced me to pick up the mushrooms and move them to a bright spot to take photos. I needed moss, and I got it; it's the perfect combination to make the purple pinwheel even prettier. Yeah, sometimes you have to think about how to manipulate your photos with something to make them look more beautiful. Of course, something that looks natural, not just edited!

Look at this one. What a kind person—it bowed respectfully.

There, I found a pair. I looked around for three or more of them expectantly. But nothing!

I found another pair. Why is there only a pair, not more? This is nature's secret. You can't ask for more!

...and then, suddenly, I flew into my fantasy: bringing one partner together with another partner like family or relatives; in fact, they are indeed family even though they grew up not close together.

Look at that! A touching family reunion, right? After the reunion, there will be a farewell party. Oh, just like drama!

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^{This is my contribution to #FungiFriday hosted and curated by @ewkaw.}

Happy #FungiFriday🍄

^{All of the images here are my work, taken with Xiaomi POCO NFC smartphone and an assembled external macro lens.}