X-Ftn-To: Gwailoh-9 

Gwailoh-9  wrote:
>>Finding them was always more fun than eating them, because they are
>>often hidden under the leaves and branches any you need to train you
>>eyes in order to find anything at all. Great fun for kids.
>
>fantastic!  This is a great activity, exactly what i'll be doing with
>my family.  Spend outdoors time together, learning about nature.

Just beware the ticks and lyme disease and stuff like that; I caught
that twice as a kid. I guess that there's a vaccine for that, and I
think getting it might be a good idea.

>>>In Canada & Australia, such a thing would be _very_ uncommon.  
>>
>>I find this surprising; actually, this is good news, coz if I go to
>>Canada, I'll be sure that a million of folks didn't turn every leaf in
>>a forest looking for them; I'd probably pick enough for lunch in five
>>minutes. :)) 
>
>Yep you won't have any trouble at all.  Though there was a huge
>shitaike & maitake (sp?) craze 10 or 15 years ago.  

I heard about that; never bought them, tho, they were too expensive
and I figured that I can probably pick the stuff as "medicinal" as
that myself. :)

>They realized
>these medicinal mushrooms were growing everywhere in British Columbia
>(the most beautiful province, in the west - the rainforested coastal
>areas are extremely rich & diverse in fungi) 

Hmm, British Columbia, noted. :)

>and that that they were
>worth a lot of money to the Japanese.  During the Japanese off-season,
>just *one* big mushroom could be worth $50 or more!  

Gee.

>>No such luck here. But, recently I'm a bit cautious about
>>mushrooms, they don't fit in my diet and I tend to leave them out...
>>too much tellural prana. 
>
>Tellural = of the earth ?  

Yes, as opposed to solar. Gets the energy from the Earth instead of
the Sun.

>That would sound good & grounding...?  

Well, yes, but sometimes _too_ grounding, I'd have to combine it with
beans and cereals and other similar things in order to soften the
effect.

>Plus it is 100% karma free!  

:) Probably. :)

>No animals are killed, no plants are killed,
>and if you shake the cap/gills when picking, all the spores are
>released, and the fruit-bodies' purpose is achieved. 

True. And, if you use the knife to cut them away, instead of pulling
them away, you won't damage the mycellium and new mushrooms will
sprout from that place.

>>:) Make your own culture, then. But be sure to read lots of
>>illustrated books about them, the ones written by the guys with lots
>>of experience. Once you get the hang of it, it can be extreme fun, and
>>you get to walk through the nature a lot.
>
>'make your own culture' yes thats a good motto i think!  You've
>inspired me, i'm going to get off my bum and see if there are any /
>many edible species where i am, here in Oz.  

Must be. But, check for the pollution, heavy metals and stuff. The
mushrooms absorb rare minerals from the earth, and you can get stuff
from there, that you can't find anywhere else, like the rare elements
etc. But, they also absorb other elements, like heavy metals and
radioactive isotopes. So, it's best to avoid cities and industrial
plants.

>It is a new country, and mycology is pretty darn undeveloped, the body
>of knowledge is nothing at all like what you Europeans have.  But
>still, i'm in a university town, so at the worst case, the
>biology/botany department might have some expertise.

Good luck! :)

-- 
Homepage: http://www.danijel.org