Spore Print Time!

I found a fully opened mushroom on my morning walk! It was on Maunalani Circle at a place that I had not previously seen any mushrooms; it looks like the ones I have seen at Jimmy's & at the unknown person's lawn. There was a clump of newly emerging mushrooms and one fully opened one; they were in the right-of-way near a water meter & fire hydrant. Earlier I had put a white paper bag in my fanny pack so I would be ready for the mushroom at Jimmy's place; the cap I got this morning just barely fit in it.

Young mushrooms off Maunalani Circle.

Mature mushroom a few feet away from those above.

I put the bag with the cap in the car just before I did my cool down stretches. Generally, you place a cap on a sheet of white paper or a special sheet of paper with a circle the is half white & half black, cover it with a bowl or something else to keep the wind from dispersing things, and check on it the next morning. Any spores that have fallen will leave a pattern on the paper showing the color of the spores; the black portion will easily let you know if you have white spores, though if you only have plain white paper you can tell by running your finger across the surface to feel the spores. Even though I only had the cap sitting for 8 hours, it was long enough. Here is the spore print of the mushroom I picked this morning; since the spores are green, it is Chlorophyllum molybdites; it is not edible, eating it will make you sick but it won't kill you unless you are sensitive to chemicals it contains.

Cap of mature mushroom in white paper bag that has been cut open.

Spore print from mushroom cap.

The underside of mushroom cap; you can get an ID in the field if the gills have already started to shed spores.

While I was collecting the mushroom a woman walking her dog came up and started asking questions about it. Gwen was walking her daughter's dog Kealani; they live down on Matsonia so I have walked past her house numerous times. We had a great conversation about mushrooms, caring for aging parents, & the high cost of living while we walked down towards the park.

After Gwen & I parted ways, I met Eva & Selena at the top of Wilhelmina Rise. They are 2 more Wonder Women to add to my list along with Rhonda, Kavita, & Karen! They start at the bottom of Wilhelmina Rise and run up to the top! They are doing this every other day so I am sure I will see them again.

L to R: Eva, Selena.

On the way to change out of my sweaty clothes, I saw CNA Venus taking one of the residents to the dining room. She stopped to let me know that Dad was combative this morning; he wouldn't even let her change his diaper. Venus is one of Dad's favorites and he usually does everything she asks him to do without a fuss. Later in the day he was back to his usual self and cooperating with Venus.

This has been a great day to meet new people! On my mid-morning walk I met Tom, his girlfriend Chona, and their dogs Mero & Jellie on Maunalani Circle; they live below the park. We talked about Maunalani Nursing Home and Mero's name. A short while later I met Roxanne, she was walking her brother Mark's dog Scout & looking for the access to Mau'umae Trail; from the direction she was approaching it was hidden behind a big clump of grass. It turns out Roxanne is here for a couple of weeks visiting from Vancouver, BC, which is a few hours north of where I used to live; a lot of Canadians used to come to our county to go shopping at the outlet stores when the exchange rate was in their favor.

L to R: Chona, Tom, Jellie, & Mero.

Roxanne & Scout at the Mau'umae trailhead.

He just couldn't resist!

Lunch today was Cheeseburger on bun, Hawaiian coleslaw, Banana pudding, and Seafood chowder. The alternate entree was BBQ chicken; I need to find out how to request the alternate entree. Maybe I can write it on my Guest Lunch request note; but then that means that I will have to look ahead on the schedule, see whether I want the regular entree, if not I make the request. Nah, too much trouble; besides, they are giving it to me free so I shouldn't be choosy about it. Dad ate 25% of his lunch & all his supplements.


My afternoon walk was uneventful, except that the Kolea at the park were very flighty. I think it was because the maintenance people were weed whacking the grass on the slopes earlier in the day.

The Roommate Who Likes to Wash Dishes bought Popeye's chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits, and coleslaw for dinner tonight instead of cooking. The bags that the sides come in are white on the inside; I kept them for more spore prints, which I still need to do for the mushrooms from Jimmy's and the unknown person's lawn. Using bags to hold your mushrooms when you are collecting them speeds up the spore print process; this is a tip I learned from the old timers in the Snohomish County Mycological Society that I belonged to when I lived in Washington.

Happy Birthday to Dave & Nashla!