Intersubjective reality [544]

Greetings from The Borders...

Oct 10, 2025

∙ Paid

Strange to see this fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) sitting in the middle of a playing field. It's often found this time of year but beneath birch, pine, or spruce trees. This is the classic “toadstool” you see in fairy tales, it features white gills, a skirt-like ring on its stem, and a bright red cap with white spots that makes it one of the most recognisable fungi in the world. Although toxic if eaten raw, it contains psychoactive compounds that've been used in traditional Siberian shamanic rituals and linked to early Christmas folklore. Sometimes you might see squirrels nibbling on them and although they appear unaffected by its toxins... who knows how they might behave when not tripping their tits off.

I’m Christian Payne, photographer, writer, disciple of experience and experiment. In this weekly dispatch I seek out novelty, explore the relations between things, how we share, what we share and consume, plus where we might be going.

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Intersubjective reality [544]

Greetings from The Borders...

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