Rainforests of Australia

Some things you don’t do until very late in life… I haven’t ridden a bicycle, walked through a rainforest and written a blog until I moved to Australia. I can add a few more things to this list, but I’d rather share with you my impression of the rainforests today. They abound in Australia, where they can be seen in many coastal areas from the South-East to the North-East, where rain is very generous. Besides the many types of trees, including oak, gum, and palm trees, there are ferns, and innumerable kinds of plants. But the multitude of greens is enhanced by the bright, humid mosses covering the trunk of most trees, the entire forest explodes into a rainbow with the blue, red and yellow fruit and the colorful fungi. Fungi in all shapes (cup, stick, umbrella, etc) and shades of beige, yellow, brown, or red ornate trees from the root to the crown, lying down dead or poking through the canopy with life. My picture captures just a small group of mushrooms clinging onto a live tree. Some of these fungi are luminescent and can be seen glowing in the dark, but most are poisonous. The rainforests also are never quiet during the day. I sometimes stop, close my eyes and listen to the mixing of sounds from water dripping and birds chirping. With little light penetrating to the bottom of the rainforest, the air is full of humidity and mystery, inviting one to visit again and again.