The Loom Room

Day 51: The Loom Room received an unscheduled reorganization a few days ago when the ancient computer I had been using for backup image storage finally gave up the ghost with much wheezing, gasping and choking in its final moments. I've been expecting its demise for some time, even anticipating the event in the hopes of gaining a bit more space in these crowded quarters. Its footprint has now filled by the sewing machine, out of the kitchen at long last, and some minor shifting of furniture made it easier for me to access a crafts cupboard. The old HP has been sectioned and its recyclable bits binned appropriately, while the hard drive and motherboard are slated for eventual destruction. Besides giving me a certain feeling of satisfaction as I dismembered the beast, its absence makes the Loom Room a more pleasant work area, somewhere I can hide out when I've had it up to the eyeballs with technology. Consequently, the waffle-weave throw is going a bit faster now. Who knows? I might even get some of those bins of yarn used up and gain even more space!

Peltigera Britannica

Day 61: Peltigera britannica is easy to distinguish because its "freckles" (cephalodia) can be scraped off easily with a fingernail when the lichen is fresh. In fact, the ease with which they detach has led to occasional misidentification when they were not readily apparent. There are a number of species of Peltigera in the Pacific Northwest forests; P. britannica is fairly common.

You'll have to forgive the brevity of this post. I've been having all sorts of issues with the new laptop and an incompatibility issue with CenturyLink's in-house version of Norton AntiVirus and Windows updates. I've spent at least three unproductive hours on the phone with various representatives, and although the problem seems to be resolved at the moment, I have no idea how long the fix will last. As I've said many times before, if I disappear, it won't be my fault. And at this point, the problems of being on line have almost convinced me to pull the plug.

Short Pack Walk

Day 47: At a loss for a blog post but having a parcel which needed to be mailed from a larger post office, I took a brief detour to Pack Forest for a short walk. I had only gone a little way on the Hugo Peak trail when my phone rang. Kevin was done setting up my new laptop (or at least he thought he was), and asked if I'd like to stop by to pick it up. I'd already gotten a few pictures, although none of them was of anything new or particularly exciting, so I asked him to give me an hour and continued up the trail. That didn't leave time to get up Hugo, so I snapped this scenic view from one of the few open spaces and shortly thereafter, discovered a colony of fungi which will appear in tomorrow's post. No, the computer didn't make it home with me yet, but we're close.

Galerina Marginalis

Day 36: I think yesterday afternoon's event merits a poisonous mushroom. My computer is on its last legs. It's had issues from Day One, and attempting to replace it at Best Buy when it was less than a week old was a less-than-satisfactory experience. I wound up returning home with it, problems and all, and I suppose I should count myself lucky that it's lasted this long before giving me the Black Screen of Death. In any event, if my blog runs suddenly dry, I ask your patience until I can replace it. I'll catch up, promise.

So...subject here is Galerina marginalis, one of the commonest species to be confused with edible look-alikes. It was formerly known as G. autumnalis, but thanks to DNA tests, it has been recombined with at least two other Galerinas under a single taxon. It can be deadly if consumed in even small quantities, and any other mushroom which has come into contact with it should be discarded. Identify your 'shrooms BEFORE you put them in your basket!