In what way does Gavin connect the natural world to human society in the novel, The Unpassing?

Gavin is an observant narrator, and he describes their home and environment extensively. He describes it using vocabulary which connects the natural world to human society, like when reflecting on mushrooms with “perfect and unblemished” caps “curving over their stems like modest skirts,” which were growing in their bathroom when the family first moved in (10). Gavin is also very sensitive to things appearing and disappearing. During his feverish illness, Ruby’s things left the room – first her pillow, then her bed. He sees four large, black trash bags outside, “straining with contents I couldn’t fathom” – presumably Ruby’s things, and the family’s things, that have been contaminated by the illness (16).