About 10 years ago heavy rain in the region where I lived then, killed one of my favorite trees. After it was cut down, I decided I might as well watch the fungal procession as it rotted down the stump. More than thirty fungi species later I was well and truly hooked and even obsessive about finding new fungi first in my backyard, and then in the surrounding streets and local parks.

Finding out about fungi became my new favorite hobby, one that I can’t leave alone even when I became mortally sick. Still, I made it out the other side of the treatment and hundreds, maybe even a thousand of fungi sightings later, I moved to Brisbane in Queensland for health reasons.

Far fewer fungi in the city. Completely different climate. Much less native vegetation. The number of green parks and reserves looks good on a map but when you get to them on foot, they are deserts of grass. I’ve begun to gather up wood-chips and watering them, observing the fungi that eventuate.