As I've mentioned before, up here in Maine has been the wettest summer I have ever experienced. Until the past few days it has been overcast and rainy every day for 41 days, with only two semi-clear ones to break up the wet. I've been feeling like a mushroom at times and even wondered if fungus was going to start growing here and there on me. Over the past month I've been watching the local post office, not for mail, but for 'shrooms; which grow there in plenty.

One day I noticed a few white mushrooms, then the next a few orange ones joined them, then some yellowish brown ones joined the party. And a heck of a party it is, I pulled out my mushroom field guides and tried to identify them. I got so caught up it this that I contacted the Maine Mycological Association and got their calender of events. After messing around for a few days with the post office 'shrooms I joined them for a foray into the woods, chasing the wild mushroom. I'll tell you more about that mushroom foray in part two of this series.

I have always been fascinated by wild mushrooms. My dad talked about going mushrooming in the forest when he was a boy growing up in Europe. My mother avidly craves mushrooms, but never went mushrooming herself. Both my mom and dad warned me repeatedly about how unsafe it is and so I guess it stuck. I never did more than buy field guides about mushrooms, which I barely cracked open until this week. This is strange because I am a fanatic about foraging for wild edible and medicinal plants. I have a M.Ed in Outdoor Education, am a licensed wilderness guide, and an Outward Bound Instructor. When I was out in the wilderness I tried to live of the land as much as I could and constantly studied about wild edible and medicinal plants.

I'm sure you've heard that chocolate is bad for dogs, but did you know that macadamia nuts are poisonous to dogs? Now that the holidays are starting we tend to have more nuts around to nibble on. If you have dogs in your house you may want to make sure that they don't help themselves to your prized macadamias. When dogs eat them they can get a toxic reaction called macadamia nut toxicosis. Within twelve hours of eating the nuts they start to develop symptoms such as an inability to stand, ataxia (walking wobbly), depression, vomiting, muscle tremors, hyperthermia (elevated body temperature), weakness, and an elevated heart rate.

Usually the symptoms go away within 48 hours but the weakness, vomiting, and fear can lead to dangerous, and sometimes deadly, shock. These symptoms can be even worse if your dog also eats some chocolate with the nuts. Then the effect of both combined is much worse and kidney failure can set in. So enjoy your nuts, but make sure that Lady and the Tramp get their doggy treats instead. Or a nice big bowl of spaghetti to share.