Mount Wilson Sleeps

Never say never. Yet another trip to Mount Wilson in an attempt to drain every last drop of beauty from the Autumn season. First of all Carolyn put my rainbow umbrella to good use.

Colour At Mt. Wilson

A fourth visit to Mt. Wilson this year and each time there is something of beauty to impress. The colour has left the main avenues but there are still intense colours to be found along the side streets and in all the gardens. The red and white mushroom (Amanita muscaria) which grow almost exclusively beneath pine trees are still dotted through the pine needles along the roadsides and in the private gardens. 

We discovered a new location in Breenhold Gardens which is perhaps the most impressive of any location I've seen in all the years I've visited. Two contrasting stone pathways meander from the wisteria arbour down towards the lower level. Named the Acer and Laburnum steps they are created of slate stones and festooned with a myriad of tiny maple shaped leaves. The sunlight radiates through the rich golden and orange branches creating a shimmering dappled light which illuminates the carpeted steps and ornate bench. 

 The Laburnum Steps

The Acer Steps 

The Autumn colours lend themselves beautifully to Impressionist interpretations

The Lure Of The Red Mushroom

Was drawn back to Mt. Wilson to try yet again to capture the beauty of the red mushrooms with white spots. I was also hoping that there may have been some deeper colour in what was left of the leaves after the recent deluge which hit parts of NSW.  These large red mushrooms have intrigued me since being introduced to them in childhood fictional tales such as "Noddy and Big Ears".  Perhaps their greatest fascination stems from having lived in an imaginary world fuelled by  bedtime stories read by my mum, where these mushrooms sheltered wee folk.

  Wikipedia describes the mushrooms:

Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a mushroom and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, associating with various deciduous and coniferous trees. The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, one of the most recognisable and widely encountered in popular culture. Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare.

  This year the mushrooms could even be seen along the roadside and beneath the trees in Cathedral Reserve.

We knew however to return to Breenhold Private Gardens . 

 I felt I would have guaranteed success for my hunt beneath the gigantic chestnut tree in Breenhold and I wasn't disappointed. The tree is located in a sheltered corner near the front fence.

 Sadly all of the chestnuts had fallen and deteriorated and the colour had passed its peak but it is still indeed a magnificent tree and I doubt any photo could do it justice.

Searching For Signs Of Autumn

It's always difficult to gauge the best time for a visit to Mt. Wilson in the Blue Mountains. Too early and all is green, too late and all is on the ground. Mt. Wilson is one of the most scenic locations during the Autumn, however being about a 2 hour drive from home, not the sort of place suitable for regular trips. Our first trip was a little too early this year. Although there were pockets of colour, strangely enough many leaves had already fallen and lay brown on the ground. The large chestnut tree in Breenhold Gardens had already shed many of its chestnuts and they lay rotting on the ground beneath. 

We were however rewarded for out trip when we discovered the large red mushrooms with white spots. I'd located these the previous year after following directions from the Breenhold gardener and had not been pleased with the shots I captured, so we were lucky to have another opportunity.

Some enormous samples littered the ground beneath both the pine avenue and the chestnut tree which kept us occupied for a long period.

We visited the Cathedral Of Ferns but were unable to walk very far as it was very muddy underfoot.