Death by Gloom

Is it possible to die from gloom ? This spring has been an incredibly gloomy one, little sun, much rain and unseasonable heat. With the passing of June 21st we are now definitely and irrevocably into summer, there was very little transition between winter cool and summer sizzle.
Heat and humidity affects most of us to some extent, I too am not immune to feeling summer's lethargy and insipidity, even the vegetation appears to be succumbing. My colorful Fiesta Lantanas have lost most of their blossoms and are now struggling with mealy bugs and powdery mildew, the rotten tomatoes still battle early blight fungus, along with an aggravating thief of a squirrel that keeps stealing the hard green fruit before they've a chance to ripen. Of all the garden the only things flourishing pest and disease free are the weeds and the wild vines.

above : Vines growing into the tree tops and a stately old
Florida Pine dominates the skyline.

below : Looking down Cow Pen Creek
with lush growth of vines starting to over take
native trees and brush.


Yesterday I ventured to the far back of our property, it had been a while and I was curious to see how things looked. Under the shade of one huge oak, I happened upon an unusual growth, undoubtedly a fungus of some sort. It measured approximately 8 inches across, fairly large for fungi. If anyone is familiar I'd love to know more about it.