mushrooms --- mystery

Mushrooms are not a plant, not an animal. And we eat them. A fungus, which a mushroom is, is a kind of life form beyond plant. Actually I know nothing about mushrooms. With the possibility of rain returning to N. California, and it was supposed to rain today, I hope to take a mushrooming class to identify some commonly found mushrooms that are safe to eat.

In the meantime, with my long daily walks, during which I gravitate to green places, woods, paths in forests, I have been coming upon a few mushrooms here and there. I thought mushrooms need serious moisture. I wonder if the fog, which usually rolls in every night, might squeeze enough moisture out of the air to bring out a few of these elemental, fungal beings.

I have come upon mushrooms several times in the past week. Today, walking through a large patch of steep hillside covered in green gas, I smelled mushrooms before I saw them. I am pretty sure the ones I saw are safe to eat but, not being sure, I left them.

I remember all the places I have seen mushrooms. Maybe I just need to buy a book to identify some basic, safe ones.  I need something.

I regularly buy mushrooms at my farmers market but they are expensive. The cheapest ones are expensive. Mushrooms provide all kinds of awesome nutrients you rarely get anywhere else.

And their elusive, magical appearances, or lack thereof, make them even better.

Rain. Mushrooms appear. Knowledge arrive so I know which ones to eat. This I pray.