Halloween is upon us and, in the northern hemisphere, life as we know it is battening down the hatches. Autumn, the season of dying, is in full swing, which makes October the perfect month to learn a little more about decay.
It's generally regarded as ugly, dangerous, and even horrible, but decomposition is a necessary process and one in which lurks unexpected beauty. As ever, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but some of the organisms that evolved to do life's dirtiest jobs look so cool that a few years ago, I started photographing them during my autumn walks.
But even if fungi give you the heebie-jeebies ('tis the season!), there's no denying the importance of their work. As Hank Green said in a timely Crash Course video: "Fungi. They thrive on death, and in the process make all life possible."
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4DUZhnNo4s[/youtube]
