To decay, to rot, to putrefy

There is something in the decay of nature that awakens thought, even in the most trifling mind.

Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (1788 - 1879). American writer and and author of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb".

Sometimes the decay is rapid, but as my elephant blip from this day last year shows, it can be very, very slow indeed.