THE ENCHANTED NATURE NEWSLETTER
Issue 50
October, November, December
Conclusion 2025
Greetings Enchanted Nature Community
We hope that you conclude your 2025 with some enchanting time spent in nature and that your 2026 begins with hope, health, joy
and time spent with those you love.
The Enchanted Nature Newsletter.
Time, Rythyms, Perceptions and Life
"Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current;
no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place,
and this too will be swept away."
— Marcus Aurelius
Hello Enchanted Community,
We've been very busy these past months and it's been bit of time since we published a newsletter. As 2025 draws to a close, we feel that the concept of "time" bears meditation. Humankind uses a clock based on the rotation of the planet which averages 24 hours, also known as one day. We use the Gregorian calendar which is based on the Earth's revolutions around the sun, averaging 365 days. Within these constructs, we organize our lives, norms of society and future events. It's strange that days, hours and minutes are based on natural phenomenon but the way we structure our lives around days, hours and minutes feels absolutely unnatural. Paying the bills, raising children, taking care of loved ones, maintaining our possessions, maybe volunteering a bit, hopefully continuing to educate ourselves and spending quality time with others adds up very quickly and can leave us frustrated and fatigued. Perennials do not go dormant on an exact date. They recede based on weather patterns and climate conditions. The closest thing that humans do similarly is to have a "rain date" for an outdoor event. Even then, that "date" is scheduled for a particular hour on a particular calendar day. In nature, timing is fluid, not dictated by clocks or calendars. Life and death follow rhythms we cannot control, and yet we often try to impose schedules and deadlines on life's most profound experiences. As this year comes to an end, it is a reminder that some things: the cycles of life, growth, love and loss, cannot be and do not need to be neatly measured. They most importantly only need to be experienced.
No doubt, you will see remembrances of people that passed in 2025. Mostly it will be famous actors, authors, musicians and politicians that are mentioned. As 2025 passed, so did some beloved family members, friends, community members and many humble folks that don't make a public spectacle of their contributions to the world.
We want to take a moment to celebrate all of the not-so-famous people who's faces we will never see, that have passed in 2025.
To those that were kind to strangers, fed the hungry, worked for peace and helped the poor, we thank you for making our world a better place during your lifetime.
To those who worked to solve environmental problems, whether picking up litter, searching for sustainable solutions or fighting the unscrupulous marauders profiting at the expense of the planet, so that our grandchildren and their grandchildren might inherit a thriving planet, we thank you.
To those of you who advocated for love, equality and inclusion rather than espousing hate, injustice and discrimination during your lifetime, we thank you.
Looking forward, we share a quote from the Dalai Llama, “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others… If you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”
We wish that 2026 brings you all excellent health, happiness, prosperity and much time spent with those you love being enchanted by nature.
From Our Readers
We sincerely appreciate your contributions!
Your photos make The Enchanted Nature Newsletter more interesting for the entire Enchanted Nature community.
If any of you see anything enchanting in nature, take a picture and please send it along.
Jack Wilson shared some interesting photos.
Below we see leaf galls. Most people might hike right past these affected leaves assuming that the plant was "sick" with some sort of bacterial or viral infection. It's nice that Jack found them enchanting enough for photos. He also provided us with some information regarding these galls. They are induced by gall wasps (family Cynipidae), which lay their eggs in the developing tissues of oak trees. The tree's reaction to the wasp larva's secretions causes the characteristic gall structure to form around the developing insect, providing it with food and protection. While their appearance can be striking, oak apple galls are generally considered harmless to the overall health of mature oak trees, though heavy infestations might lead to premature leaf drop. Historically, these galls, particularly the oak marble galls from Andricus kollari, were highly valued for their high tannin content and were used in the production of iron gall ink and for dyeing cloth. Thanks for the excellent macro shots and the interesting information Jack.
.jpg)
_edited_edited.jpg)
.jpg)
Eileen Feim submitted some fungal photos.
The pics below appear to be an Ringless Honey Mushrooms (Armillaria tabescens)
which are pathogenic, saprophytic and edible. There are many lookalikes for this mushroom. Some of the lookalikes are deadly toxic, so we can't be sure without a more thorough identification process.
Nice Pics Eileen! Thanks for sharing with the community.
Thank you for your submissions! May the forest be with you.
Remember, if you can't get enough fungal fun,
stop in and see us at The Necessary Mercantile
Please send us your pics and queries:
adventures@enchantednaturetours.com
You can also text your pics & questions to (540) 324-8778.
From The Writers
A Morel monument carved from a Oak tree trunk by Chris.
Onward and Upward
By: Christopher and Victoria Vacher
The Second Annual Enchanted Mushroom Festival was held on October 4th this year. A large team of fantastic volunteers created a FUNG-TASTIC day for visitors from Washington DC, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Tennessee, New York, California, Massachusetts and all over the state of Virginia. Executing an event like this can be tedious, exhausting and sometimes frustrating to the point that people will give up while others never create the event to begin with. Despite the challenges, we are currently planning on holding the third Enchanted Mushroom Festival on Saturday, October 3rd, 2026, so mark your calendars. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's take a look at 2025. Todd Messegee of Run Cat Run Media created a short video of the festival:
The vendors were all successful and the attendees had an enjoyable day. Various musical acts, free childrens' activities, a martial arts demonstration, educational talks, a blacksmith with a forge, delcious foods, luscious libations, tasty treats and many other highlights brought smiles to the festival.
As we look back at 2025, there have been some positive headlines:
During the cold, snowy and this year stressful days of December, we always look for the positive. Luckily, there is an abundance of good news on positive environmental happenings in 2025.
Here are but a few of them...
-
HAWAII REPLACED ITS LAST COAL PLANT
The solution is with a giant battery proving how grid functions can be switched from fossil-fueled plants. Any step in the direction of clean energy is a win for the environment.
-
COLORADO HAS DECLARED BEES “AS ANIMALS TOO”
Recognizing the importance of pollinators such as bees. Colorado has taken the first step in protecting those that play such an essential role in life as we know it. This means that existing wildlife programs and funds can now be used to protect bees as well. We can only hope that other states follow their excellent lead.
-
EU APPROVES NATURE RESTORATION LAW
After much deliberation the EU has passed this law that represents a commitment to restoring Europe’s damaged ecosystems and encourage biodiversity. It aims to restore 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030. Plus fully restoring all degraded ecosystems by 2050. This law is a major win for nature on the continent and for the world.
-
US NATIONAL PARKS RECEIVED $700 MILLION TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE
This money was received due to the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022. It will facilitate the parks in defending themselves against the worst effects of climate change. It is a step in the right direction and will enable parks to restore and revitalize the land.
-
STUDIES PROVE THAT REFORESTATION WORKS
In the eastern United States studies have shown that the effects of the vast deforestation from the 18th century to the early 20th have been mitigated with recent planting efforts. Approximately 15 million hectares of forest have been replanted and are helping to keep regions cool in the face of rising temperatures. These studies show proof of an remarkable ecological recovery and how effective reforestation can be.
-
SEA TURTLES ARE MAKING A COMEBACK
On the Gulf Coast of Florida a beautiful barrier island called Anna Maria has earned celebration rights for a win in sea turtle conservation. The implementation of Anti-plastic movement recommendations (started to help turtles specifically) and other conservation methods seem to be working. In July, volunteers counted a total of 546 nests on the island breaking a 42-year record. A major win for conservation and for sea turtles too!
-
WORLD’S LARGEST CORAL COLONY IS DISCOVERED
Scientists have discovered that what was thought to be a shipwreck off the Solomon Island in the Pacific Ocean is actually the world’s largest coral colony. It measures 112’ x 105’ making it larger than the Earth’s biggest animal - the blue whale. The colony is so large it can be see from space, but somehow has remained unseen for all these years. The researchers who discovered the coral say it is in good health but faces numerous threats as do reefs all over the world. As coral reefs hold such responsibility for the health of our oceans let’s hope this discovery will bring additional marine protections throughout the world’s waterways.
-
MURDER HORNETS ERADICATED FROM THE U.S.
Four years after the discovery of murder hornets in the U.S. officials have announced that they have been eradicated from the country. These invasive hornets would kill off entire bee hives as they spread into new territory. Our bees are already threatened and this particular species was especially dangerous. We are adamant about saving nature but there is always an exception to every rule. These hornets will not be missed.
-
Canada has begun a Monarch Habitat Restoration Program, Montana’s Supreme Court held up the court ruling that children have a fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment, Balcony solar is taking off in Germany, Fashion has moved away from using feathers, Doggies are dispersing wildflower seeds in East Sussex, Sustainability attitudes are changing consumerism!!! So many positive news stories happened in 2025 that there isn’t room to list them all, but there is a glimmer of optimism for our planet and we need as much optimism as we can muster.
We sincerely hope that you've enjoyed your holiday season so far
and wish you all a very happy new year in 2026.
Enchanted Nature News
Learn A New Skill With
Enchanted Nature's Introduction to Mycology and Mushroom Foraging Class
Sunday, January 25, 2026
Things are GROWING well!
Enchanted Nature's Fresh Mushrooms
and grow at home kits are now available at
The Necessary Mercantile in Churchville, VA
Enchanted Nature Mushroom Extracts:
Small batch, hand made, full spectrum
extracts made with whole fruiting bodies.
We source, forage or grow the mushrooms locally.
Our extracts can be purchased at:
The Necessary Mercantile, The Cheese Shop, Polyface Farms or
you can order on The Enchanted Nature Trading Post
We Are Nature
Many of us think of ourselves as separate beings that are separate from nature but the truth is that we are nature. Each of us, all of us is part of the larger organism we know as nature.
Allan Watts gives an elegant explanation in the video below.
Findings reported in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, suggest that keeping a few snapshots of greenery around yourself might be beneficial. When participants viewed the natural images in the experiment, their stress levels lowered, thanks to the activation of their parasympathetic nervous system – which controls certain rest functions. "Viewing green scenes may thus be particularly effective in supporting relaxation and recovery after experiencing a stressful period and thereby could serve as an opportunity for micro-restorative experiences and a promising tool in preventing chronic stress and stress-related diseases."
Take a deep breath, hold it, and let it out slowly as you relax.
NATURE IS CALLING, WILL YOU ANSWER
There are many proven health benefits to spending time in nature. It has also been proven that just looking at images of nature can provide multiple health benefits including: reducing depression, speeding healing, improving your immune system, preventing dementia, improving your mood, and increasing happiness. We plan on ending each newsletter with a short video of a natural scene. Hopefully the videos will provide you with some of the benefits listed above.