Faerie Mushroom Connection_The Fairyman

More about Faerie Mushroom Connection_The Fairyman

Poem by
Mary Gilmore
It was, it was a fairy man
Who came to town to-day;
"I'll make a cake for sixpence
If you will pay, will pay."

I paid him with a sixpence,
And with a penny too;
He made a cake of rainbows,
And baked it in the dew.

The stars he caught for raisings,
The sun for candied peel,
The moon he broke for spices
And ground it on a wheel.

He stirred the cake with sunbeams,
And mixed it faithfully
With all the happy wishings
That come to you and me.

He iced it with a moonbeam,
He patterned it with play,
And sprinkled it with star dust
From off the Milky Way.

FAERIES AND MUSHROOMS
WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?
WELL, WHEN THE POEM MENTIONS…

…sprinkled it with stardust from off the milky way…
THIS REMINDS ME …
of spores that are
so light they can travel
even as far as outer-space
including the milky way!

WHEN THE POEM MENTIONS…
…the sun…(for candied peel)…

THIS REMINDS ME …
mushrooms don’t just grow
in the dark,
in fact, they like ambient sunlight.

The sun also brings to mind
the fact that if you place
mushrooms in the sun
in the summer,
they can absorb vitamin D
which can last up to 2 years,
giving you a source to
last through the
dark, cold winters.

Meanwhile, just so you know, all of the fairy poems
shared were gathered (some written by me) a few years prior
to discovering Paul Stamets and his mushroom work. At the time
I was trying to connect, especially children, to nature with
a bit of fun by incorporating fairies, along with nature activities.

Then, when I discovered Paul Stamets and his work with mushrooms,
I thought in a way, I had discovered a holy grail to many of our environmental
problems, which has always been a core interest of mine.

This influence from Paul Stamets began around 2010 to the present.
However, because of one interview which I thought was not
in his usual style of being straight upfront, in fact, appeared to be
over-acting, I began to question the ground upon which he stood.

The following link I think gives a fair assessment and balance to all
in his regard, so perhaps, in the end, we may not throw out the baby
with the bathwater.

https://seismicspore.com/paul-stamets-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/