A cluster of delicate orange cup fungi with translucent edges grows on a mossy, decayed log. Sunlight filters through the forest canopy, highlighting the fungi's curved forms and casting soft shadows on the textured bark. The background is blurred, drawing focus to the fungi's intricate details and vibrant hues.
The story behind this shot, where I nearly lost my life:
I leaned over the log to capture this shot, stood up, gathered my things, and planted my walking stick in front of me. The stick landed right next to a Fer de Lance hidden in the foliage, a particular viper that had just been spotted in the rainforest in that area. The place I was staying at had posted a notice warning people about it, with descriptions of its markings.
The stick landed between me and the viper, and it startled and leapt away from me into the forest. If it had leapt the other direction, into the walking path, I could have been bitten, and our location was a solid 45 minute drive from the nearest medical clinic. The warning notice had said that a bite from this viper can take 30 minutes to kill a human.
I'm grateful to have escaped such a fate!
Today's #scape is a #fungi scape I found in the #rainforest of the #OsaPeninsula in #CostaRica.
There's quite a story behind this shot, with a risk of losing my life. See alt text for the full story. Suffice to say, I'm grateful to have survived to tell the tale!
#Macro #EastCoastKin