I came on this 8” diameter bicolor bolete mushroom in mid-August while walking at Mt. Tom State Park in Easthampton, MA in 2007. I was struck not only by its size, but by the adhering leaves on the yellow and red cap. Beyond that, I see untold stories. I imagine this mushroom’s origins, beneath the forest floor, waiting for the right moment...pushing up through the leaf litter, its sticky cap gathering leaves as it emerges. A slug and a small rodent have eaten from it. Cracks speak to a lack of recent rain and its age. I am struck by the interplay of the leaf remnants and the cap. For me, this image is about beauty in the overlooked, change, and the web of life.