Gathering Boletes

King Bolete, Porcini, Cep, Steinpilz … no matter what language you speak, Boletus edulis is one of the world’s most prized mushrooms.

Half Moon Bay Ride

Let’s face it. Traveling by bicycle is a lot more fun that traveling by car. It’s safer. It’s healthier. And how else can you cover so much territory and see it in such rich detail?

This weekend, we rode our bikes north from the Monterey Peninsula through the Santa Cruz Mountains to Half Moon Bay, then home again down the coast. A drenching rain turned the roads of the Salinas and Pájaro Valleys to mud holes and soaked us to the skin. But the sun came out in the hills and the warm ride home was memorable. Here’s a little of what we saw:

Alpine Rd. Near the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Pinnacles Wildflowers

The sun is out and the flowers are blooming at Pinnacles National Monument.

Here’s a little of what we saw today …

This is a field of Tufted Poppies (Eschscholzia caespitosa).

(For a closer look, click on a picture to bring up a higher resolution image, then use your browser to zoom in)

Who Owns the Rain?

Engorged with water pirated from its rightful human owners, a Coccora (Amanita calyptroderma) emerges from the forest floor

Just when we were thinking no one could be more dysfunctional than our community and state when it comes to dealing with limited water supplies, the LA Times publishes an article describing how water districts in Colorado are complaining that homeowners using rain barrels to capture run-off from their roofs are stealing water in violation of law.

2008 Year in Review

Well it’s been an interesting year, here at Xasáuan Today. We’ve looked at the Monterey Peninsula’s water supply problems and picked apart the county’s transportation dilemma. We’ve questioned development on eroding beaches and dissected the Light Brown Apple Moth. We’ve chimed in on local political issues. We’ve gone on some bike rides, examined some mushrooms, and even found time for a visit to Pat Springs.

But nothing gets attention quite like a fire.

King Bolete Time

It’s not a good sign when your first bolete of the season is already old and wormy

The Mushroom Whisperer

Just when you thought we’d never again write about anything not fire related …. along comes a news item about a mushroom poisoning.