July 15, 2024

Hidden Spores

We woke up feeling sore from all the work we had done on the fence. After finishing our chores, we made coffee and fed the dogs, who were being extra rowdy this morning. Today began the last week of my wife’s last rotation. This was exciting. 

After a writing session, I went out for my morning walk into the woods. Today, I opted to use the westernmost trail in search of a lens cap I had misplaced. When I checked my camera to see where I last took pictures with that lens, I was on the west side of the property. I hoped to get lucky and find the small plastic piece this morning. 

Luck was on my side. After exiting the front door, I walked down the stairs, took five steps, and found the lens cover in my front yard, hidden by the tall grass. I laughed since I had been looking for it for several days now. I still headed down my planned path, as I always put it, to see what I could see.

When I entered the secret trailhead, I walked past a row of cedar trees where I heard a deer bark. I spotted a herd running north through the forest, and when they were about one hundred and fifty yards away, they stopped. By the time I arrived in the area, however, they were already gone.

There was a positive vibe in the air. Although it was humid outside, the conditions weren’t uncomfortable. As I walked, the sounds of cicadas rang out from every direction. A week or two ago, I noticed most of the mushrooms were gone. While they were usually plentiful in the forest, they had all but disappeared, until the recent rain. Now, they were everywhere. 

Thinking about the matter more, I decided the mushrooms had never really left. Their spores had been there all along, waiting for the rain to provide the moisture they needed to flourish. I wondered what other life lied in wait for the right conditions. Life in the wild seemed to have a hidden realm, like the mushroom spores I couldn’t see, or the chirping cicadas that had been underground for the past thirteen and seventeen years.

As I walked along the trails, I noticed the woods had opened back up. While in the winter the woods were sparse, spring brought a lushness that seemed to fill every corner of the forest, making it difficult to see past twenty or thirty feet. Now, after a heat wave, it seemed the hot temperatures helped cull the overgrowth, allowing me to see deeper into the forest.

On my way back to the house, I passed through the grove. There, I heard a deer bark, and when I turned to my left, I saw a lone deer running north through the crop field at full speed. The deer covered several yards with every stride, and I followed its movement between the trees until it disappeared into the tree line. There was something special about watching this animal move. The power and grace they exhibited seemed completely foreign to the human experience.

When I arrived home, I showered, got dressed, and started work, attending a few early meetings. At 10 AM, the dogs started barking, so I looked out the window to see if Fedex or UPS was pulling up. To my surprise, there was a small black SUV parking. It was my wife. She got off work early and wanted to surprise me. I was thrilled.

As soon as she got inside the house, my wife changed clothes and went outside to work on the gate. This morning, she spray painted it a metallic black. The paint job worked wonders, making the gate look brand new. Once she finished, she dove into her studies while I worked. I spent the rest of my day attending online meetings.

Before I got off work, I heard the lawnmower running. My wife cut the grass alongside the dirt road, behind the pasture, and in the backyard, using our new gate to get the riding mower in and out. When she came inside the house, she told me the grass was still too wet to mow and that it kept clumping on the mower’s undercarriage. I knew then, my plans to mow the pasture this evening were going to be canceled. 

Dark clouds filled the evening sky as distant thunder rumbled. Although it never rained, I appreciated the lower temperatures and spent most of the evening outdoors playing with the dogs. 

For dinner, my wife cut vegetables, preparing a delicious salad. She asked me to grab the skirt steak off the Traeger grill, and when I opened it, I saw the yummiest looking skirt steak I had ever seen. It was bubbling with juices and smothered in a cilantro baste my wife had concocted. I couldn’t wait to eat.

After dinner, I cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes, and folded the laundry. Then I fed the dogs, sitting down with them to make sure Koda ate all of his food. I wondered where my wife was because I missed her. The last time I had seen her, she was studying on the living room couch.

When I was finally ready to take a shower, I passed through the living room and found her on the couch in a deep sleep. She was so tired! I was happy she was resting, but I woke her up and moved her to the bedroom. After, I showered and slipped into bed beside her. We were both ready for a night of good sleep.