Life Blooms

"We are not here just to survive and live long...
We are here to live and know life
in its multi-dimensions
to know life in its richness,
in all its variety.
And when a man lives
multi-dimensionally,
explores all possibilities available,
never shrinks back from any challenge,
goes, rushes to it, welcomes it,
rises to the occasion
then life becomes a flame,
life blooms."--Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, 'The Sacred Yes'

As the long, hazy days of summer evolved into the cooler, more abbreviated, first days of fall, I lamented that my photographic opportunities were diminishing as well. Many of the multi-hued plants and interesting insects I’d enjoyed capturing over the past months were going dormant and the trees seemed weeks away from their riotous, colorful change of clothes. Little did I know that from our late summer rains would emerge an astounding variety of intriguing shapes, colors and textures. On one lunchtime walk alone, I captured seven completely different species of mushroom. Among the most beautiful was this massive golden specimen that bloomed beneath a giant oak tree.—Sue Ivy