A Peculiar Fungus

Worry was Carol's hobby. Some people play ping pong or go on trips to visit the graves of dead historical figures. But Carol woke up every morning and began constructing mountains out of mole hills.

Today, she had to call in sick from work because she had noticed a peculiar fungus growing on the leaves of the little crabapple tree in front of her building. The original owners had planted a lovely garden in the tiny street-side plot, but now the place was owned by some British property management company that was letting it go to seed. And no one seemed to care.

She spent the morning at the library thumbing through too many horticultural guides, until she came across something called "Frogeye Leaf Spot." The little postules actually did look like frog's eyes. It was a colorful sort of fungus consisting of small, roundish brown spots with purple borders. She read that black pimple-like fungal-fruiting bodies may develop inside the lesions. That sounded ghastly to Carol and she despaired that the spaliated pear tree along the south side of the building might also be in danger.

She read in the University of Wisconsin Extension Service journal that the most effective control for Frogeye Leaf Spot is avoidance. That made sense to her. It worked for lots of things. Love and romance were sort of like Frogeye Leaf Spot. And despite her best friend's wishes, she had no interest in putting the "fun" in fungal-fruiting bodies.

Seed words: hobby, work, fun, colorful, many, trips, wishes, love, friends, original

These words were provided by Bishtar. (OK, it was my mom.)