The very entertaining adventures of Dr. Dennis E. Desjardin in the Fungi Kingdom

View it at - https://youtu.be/KzVYd3yeq9g

New collecting craze goes viral in China. It involves mushrooms, with Yunnan the hotspot.

I hate ticks. 

Somehow, I managed to avoid them for almost a decade of foraging in California and then got two in a row about 3 years ago. It took more than 2 years for the bites to heal and the scar from the one on my neck still flares up and gets angry from time to time.

I really, really hate ticks.

This last weekend, I went on the hunt for huckleberries and I forgot to bring my tick repellent. We drove a really long distance so my huckleberry obsession convinced me that I would be fine without it.  We had a long hard day foraging and didn’t find much for the first several hours so I was climbing through areas I normally wouldn’t unless drenched with tick repellant. Finally, after all that crawling and crouching, it was time to head home with our meager bags of huckleberries. After the long ride home, I stripped down and did a full body tick check, then brushed and combed my hair, took a shower and went to bed satisfied I was tick free.

Imagine my horror the next morning when I found this on my toilet tank.

I immediately stripped again and tied my hair back and looked more closely with my glasses off. Surprise! It was one of the lady bugs I let loose in my garden to attack the bugs eating my herbs.

I love lady bugs!

Remember your tick repellant!

On this soggy-foggy day in San Francisco, I daydream of the rains soon to come and fungi to follow. Soon it will be our club’s favorite time of the year, when the magical mushroom world is on display.

I remember my first Mendo Camp experience, disappearing into the woods (one of my favorite things). The trail to our rustic cabin was lined with such an amazing variety of fungi, which I had yet to learn. It was as if mother nature decorated for our arrival. I’m looking forward to meeting new and old acquaintances, over a hot beverage by the fire, in the steamy windowed dining hall. Please come by and say hello!

The Mycological Society of San Francisco wouldn’t have existed for 74 years without our amazing volunteers! You, too, can become more involved in what makes our society tick by volunteering. We are currently seeking people for leadership roles within our Council, and we are also seeking a webmaster to make minor Web page updates. Talk with a current Councilperson at a Culinary Dinner, at Mendo Camp, or simply email volunteer@mssf.org for more information. Help continue this exciting experience for our fungi-fascinated community!

~Sarah

October’s Culinary Group Potluck definitely captured the “Hola!” and provided the heat from mild to fiery! 
 

Attention MSSF Members!  This year's Holiday Party and Dinner will be held at Boulevard Cafe in Daly City -- so come and celebrate all things fungal with your fellow 'shroomers. Festive dress encouraged. 

Register for the 2024 Holiday Dinner in the "members only" area of mssf.org 

Mushroom season is starting, and what better time to pick up a new book? Members and non-members can use the MSSF Online Catalog to see every resource that is in the MSSF library (and more): scroll through the physical collection where you can see images of everything in our library, read a summary of the book, and get other publishing information. Members and non-members can also browse our digital catalog, which contains links to books and papers that have been published online and are free to access for anyone!

https://www.libib.com/u/mssf

NOTE: Only active members of MSSF that don't have holds on their account are able to reserve books. Book reservations are still made through the library page of the MSSF Member Portal.

Happy Reading!