Nature's Tools (2014.313)

We tend to think of tools as being deliberate inventions of sentient beings. That we can assess the relative intelligence of a species by its tool use.

Humans naturally look around and see the vast panoply of tools that we have created to make ourselves more capable or our lives easier.

And for this week's theme of "tool," I could have selected such a man-made item, or part thereof.

But it was while out walking the children and the dog that I remembered that the natural world has some of its own tools.

In the autumn of the Northern Hemisphere, we see these little fellows and their like springing up all over the place. With an abundance of moisture and fallen leaves, fungi spring up all over to reclaim those nutrients for the soil. They are one of nature's tools, optimising the circle of life.

And the safe ones are mighty tasty too!