Evelyn: Enjoyed the MOSI today, and near the end of my visit I stole off to wander the butterfly garden alone. Tremendous variety among butterflies, and the station was unmanned, so I walked into the viewing room and found a basket full of wings and parts situated under a microscope. I loved the variations in color, texture, decoration. Some of us are a bit more modest in our display than others; it seems that carries over into nature.
Monica: I'm having a hard time transitioning into the shorter days of the season now that we've all had to set our clocks back an hour and it's dark by 6:00 p.m. I've been especially grumpy today, irritated with other people, the weather, anything and everything. Walking down to the beach, I noticed dozens of different mushrooms ripped from the ground and strewn all over the trail in bits and parts. My irritation level skyrocketed, as I realized mushrooming season has begun and numerous mushroom-seekers are tromping through the woods in search of prized edible mushrooms. There's nothing wrong with harvesting mushrooms; I take issue with the mindless ways people are interacting with the forest, tearing out countless mushrooms that they have no intention of eating or keeping for study, then crushing them and dumping them on the trail. They perhaps don't realize that these mushrooms are a big part of the local ecosystem, growing out of decay, helping to nourish the forest floor in which majestic redwoods and other plant life grows. The mushrooms have their own life cycle that needs to be completed in order to grow again the next year. Treating the mushrooms so disrespectfully is akin to vandalism in my mind. GRRRR. Okay, my rant is over!
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