Rings of Things

No wonder there’s so many legends and superstitions about them: You’re out in the woods or walking a field and suddenly you come upon a circular ring or arc of mushrooms, so deliberately placed. so obviously planned.

Wherever you encounter a fairy ring, they always catch your eye.

I glimpsed this one while driving down the road and had to stop take a picture. I’ve stumbled upon these rings in different places in the past, always startled by the pattern. And I’ve found them, then returned a few hours later to find no trace of it. Mushrooms can be like that.

However, if you look closely at the picture you can trace a pretty well defined green circle beneath all the mushrooms. That suggests semi-permanence; once established thecircle expands as it grows, kind of like the rings of a tree, only in this case the further from center you move the older the ring.

Or you can find one ring, then never see another one in that particular spot again.

There's mystery to it which bred all types of superstitions. People once believe the fairy ring marked the gate to the world of the little people, the place where witches gathered or elves danced, a space one could never answer without dire consequence.

We know better, The celebrated fairy ring may hold less magic for us, but it’s still an infrequent marvel of nature.