August 15, 2017 – Fairy ring
I was
out running errands today and out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of an
unmistakable Fairy ring. I was watching
for traffic from the left and the right in an attempt to leave the Ingles
grocery store parking lot safely.
What
a delight – big huge white mushrooms on lush green grass. Made me smile and remember the first time I
had seen this phenomenon. I don’t
remember seeing any when I was a child in New England, but when I moved to the
south I saw my first exquisite example on a lawn in front of one of buildings
in the Milliken Office complex in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
I was a Kelly Girl at
the time working for Milliken while a large chunk of their staff was in a “war
room” trying to kill the NAFTA bill that went into effect in 1989. I stopped dead in my tracks – I know everyone
hates that idiom – but I can say, it is one of the few times that I was so
surprised and delighted that I stopped to admire a complete circle of huge lush
mushrooms in a fine stand of lawn. I
simply was not expecting it at the beautifully manicured campus I was rushing
to that morning.
I had heard of fairy
rings in passing and possibly saw a picture of one in a gardening magazine in
years’ past, but that morning it made me smile and made me stop and look for a
glimpse of one of those elusive dancing fairies or sprites. During the time I
was at Milliken – a several week stay – the lawn was mowed and the fairy ring
would disappear and then return. That is
what surprised me the most – destroyed by lawn mowers and then it came back.
The next fairy ring I
noticed was a double one on the lawn of the Alexander Town Hall the next summer
and it was perfection. I talked my
husband into taking me back after dinner that evening so that I could stand on
the tail gate of his pickup truck to get a bird's eye view and picture of
it. It was an impressive double fairy
ring and he admired it as much as I did.
I didn’t get a very good picture
- low battery in the 35mm camera at the time. [I can’t always be fabulous at everything I
attempt, though I will blame that failure on batteries.]
The town of Alexander
was annexed in 1999 into Forest City, North Carolina, and I haven’t seen those
fairy rings for a long time.
But, as many people
say – bad things come in threes – as well as good things come in threes. I saw the one up at Ingles signage, then
another at a 4-way stop sign near the old white house near the Forest City Golf
Course, and then a third one just south of the cross roads of Hudlow Road and
Smith Grove/Lincoln Street.
I told my husband I’d
seen three fairy rings when I got home and where they were.
He said, “Yeah, I
meant to tell you – I saw one just a day or so ago . . .” but he couldn’t
remember where.
So, he still knows I
am charmed by them and I guess he is too.
We used to have one – a partial one - near front walk and my dear husband would
mow around it because he knew I admired them.
I guess he felt they were a lucky omen.
Today, when I was
researching the mycelia and fairy rings or elf rings as some call them I did
run up on an interesting bit of folklore.
“One folk belief . .
. claims that a house built on a fairy circle will bring prosperity to its
inhabitants.”
So, I
suggest anyone looking to build a new house – look for fairy rings.
NOTES:
A fairy ring, also known as fairy circle, elf
circle, elf ring[1] or pixie
ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms.[2] The
rings may grow to over 10 metres (33 ft) in diameter, and they become
stable over time as the fungus grows and seeks food underground. They are found
mainly in forested areas, but also appear in grasslands or
rangelands. Fairy rings are detectable by sporocarps in rings or arcs, as well as
by a necrotic zone (dead grass), or a ring of dark green grass. Fungus mycelium is
present in the ring or arc underneath.
Fairy rings are the subject of much folklore and
myth worldwide—particularly in Western Europe. While they are often seen as
hazardous or dangerous places, they can sometimes be linked with good fortune.
No comments:
Post a Comment