Smurfs and Mushrooms

mushrooms in our backyard

We had periodic rain showers since the start of September. So when the sun started to reign in the sky again by the end of this week, I went to see our backyard and look what I have found --- a smurf village! Troops of mushrooms dot the shaded part of our garden. I wouldn’t say their gigantic, but they aren’t small ones, either. We’ve had mushrooms before, but not as big as these (maybe because we have a lot of rain lately). Against the green grass, they look like saucers scattered by a bunch of toddlers; or maybe they are satellite dishes masquerading as harmless fungi used by aliens to spy on humans *giggles*.


But I think I’d stick to the smurf village theory. In French, these blue-skinned tiny beings are called “schtroumpfs”. I know, it’s a mind-boggling and tongue-twisting kind of word, but that’s how the Belgian cartoonist Peyo called them. According to the story, it is virtually impossible for humans to find the schtroumpf village. But among those who got lucky enough, only a handful of them (the rare few) can find it on their own; the rest have to be led there by a smurf. I guess, in my sleep I was visited by Dreamy Smurf and he guided me as I sleep-walked into their village. And when I woke up, I remembered where to look! Hurray! Hurray! Oooops... there goes my imagination again. Please excuse me for my childish musings *apologetic grin*.


Ok, back to reality. I don’t know if these mushrooms can be eaten. They might resemble the edible ones, but then, maybe the likeness is only physical. So we decided not to harvest them. Better safe than sorry. Besides, they give a magical appearance to our yard, a playground for elves, fairies and other enchanting creatures, including the schtroumpfs *winks*. No need for ceramic mushroom garden figurines to decorate our garden. The latter might be more colorful, but the mushrooms we have lend a more “natural” look (after all they are real). One problem though, these mushrooms will soon collapse when the sun returns. Well, I really would like it to be sunny so we can enjoy the remaining days of summer (autumn officially starts next week). So between having a sunny day and the disappearing of these mushrooms, well, I think I’d choose to have some sun. In any case, autumn will be here soon with the usually very wet November. And it would mean a high probability of mushrooms sprouting again. Besides, I took several photos to remember them by.


Now, where are the schtroumpfs? Most probably they are camera shy, except maybe for Vanity Smurf and Smurfette. But then Smurfette is not really one of the schtroumpfs (she was created by Gargamel to create havoc in the smurf village). And speaking of Gargamel, I hope he’s not holding them all hostages. Bu then Papa Smurf with Brainy Smurf as a sidekick will find a way to escape. Let’s just hope Azrael, the cat wouldn’t catch one of them during their breakout *cross fingers*.