Photo by Englepip©
You would think there were giant skulls
Awkwardly rising from the grassy edges of the field,
Combatants of Saxon times,
Reawakened by the late summer sun,
Reviving to drink afresh the air
Of evening on the chalk Downland and
To march again along the dusty ancient droves
To battle.
But if they are skulls, they are marred,
By scars cut deep into flesh and bone
Sores of ancient battle
As warrior hacked warrior to the death.
But reality is equal to imagination
Both Exceptional
And the Giant Puffballs are a marvel of nature
Huge and resounding to the thrumming
Of your hand, like ancient drums
Yet also so delicious and nutritious that
Even the snails have eaten through the flesh
and the deer nibbled to the innards
Of this exceptional, gigantic, gastronomic delight.
I love a fungi photo 🙂
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Thank you. I had never seen these before but when I showed the picture a number of people described how they would find them as children and take them home and feed the family.
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I didn’t think they were edible. My new “thing I learnt today” 🙂
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I didn’t try it myself but I understand I should have picked these and eaten them as they are in prime condition. Apparently if they turn at all brown inside they are not good and on dissecting them there should be solid firm flesh. They must also be large like this or there is a danger you may pick a poisonous type which has some gills on the inside..
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Thanks 🙂
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What are these things called and why are people talking about them instead of this great poem? LOL!
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Thank you. The mushrooms are Puffball mushrooms and as you can see in the photo are HUGE. When I saw them across a field when I was out on a walk they looked like skulls popping out of the ground. The area they are in is on ancient chalk Downland and they were the inspiration for the poem.
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Amazing. Are these the edible variety?
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Apparently yes and I should have eaten them. I think even one would have lasted days!
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