Look, there are 'shrooms:
Whole colonies of them, standing at attention:
Mountain bikers add little things like this to enjoy themselves:
Oh, on my way home the other night, there was this unusual rainbow:
I swore it had shadows cast upon it. How could that be?
Here is a photograph of a pretty pink flower cluster on a tree in Mississippi:
I was walking around Starkville one night in a place that was a busy suburban street, but had no sidewalks. See, this is why it is said that both urban folks, who have commercial districts to stroll around, run to catch buses, and have to park a mile from their destinations, and rural folks, who split wood, shovel snow, and work their land, are both healthier than suburbanites, who drive everywhere and park right in front. The streets are not even amenable to walking, with no sidewalks!
So there I was walking up and down this street in my shorts and sandals, ankle-deep in grass, when suddenly it occurred to me: "Arvay, you have no idea what could be in this grass. This is not California, where harmful snakes are very large and make noise, and you know what poisonous spiders and bad plants look like, nor Alaska, where the only things that can harm you are very large and very obvious. You need to get out of this grass. Now."
It's probably a good thing to remember for the rest of my life. I am a west coaster and know what our "bad things" look, sound, and smell like. Just because I am a seasoned hiker with a well-stocked pack, it doesn't mean that all I need to add is a local map and I can walk out anywhere I want with no more preparation. It's also best to talk to local folks first! I, in return, would be happy to inform any visitors to California or Alaska how to identify bear sign and poison oak!
5 comments:
True nuf. One mom I met recently was deathly afraid of grassy fields because she grew up in the NorthEast where there are tons of ticks.
Those toadstools are beautiful! The doggies don't try to eat them?
They look like Fly Agaric toadstools, which we get in the UK - and are poisonous. We get ticks (carrying Lyme disease) here and one species of venomous snake, but fortunately no scary types of spider.
California has the most polite venomous creatures. Black widow spiders have that distinctive red mark. Rattlesnakes rattle. To me, that is the ultimate use of discretion because rattlesnakes don't eat people. They only use venom to get rid of us when we might harm them. So... if they can warn us off without harming us, they do that first, and that is very courteous of them!
I've heard that in Australia, the deadliest spiders look just like our ordinary garden spiders. That would frighten the bejeebus out of me.
TICKS TICKS TICKS are all over in summertime. Kona got one and JF un-plugged it, but it was not easy and it was lucky JF saw it.
Ah yes. Ticks are a rare example of California's more inconsiderate vermin. :(
Post a Comment