I write fiction, non-fiction, verbiage for all our websites, and have been publishing my fan fiction on my various sites for many years. https://paulacas.com
I am a Spiritual Medium and use Tarot cards as one my primary tools in doing readings. For 30 plus years have been doing readings in settings from my living room to truck stops. I tell you what Spirit wants you know for your betterment, not what you think you need to know.
I’ve worked on computers since before there was such a creature as Windows.
A Mountain Maryland native, but have spent years spent living in Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Arizona. My husband, Oro Cas, and I spent 10 years driving tractor-trailer across the 48 contiguous states.
Oro Cas and I produced and hosted Internet Radio shows on BlogTalk Radio, video productions on KDCL Media and Oro Expeditions YouTube Channels.
This question constantly runs through the forager’s mind.
As it turns out, the answer isn’t always a simple yes or no, particularly regarding wild mushrooms.
Some mushrooms are choice edibles. Some mushrooms are toxic raw. Some mushrooms are toxic no matter how thoroughly you cook them.
But there’s another category of mushrooms: those that are no longer recommended for consumption even though field guides once listed them as edible.
Included in that latter category is a mushroom that grows in hemlock forests. This lilac-colored mushroom causes unpleasant symptoms in many people who consume it.
But not everyone experiences unpleasant symptoms, and in some cultures, this mushroom is considered undeniably edible.
Why is this the case? How can a mushroom poison some people and nourish others?
I like finding all kinds of trees, but there’s one tree in particular whose presence excites me more than most.
American chestnut.
I’ll drive out of my way to find a decent-sized American chestnut. I might even interrupt a conversation to point out American chestnut.
This behavior may seem strange to some people. I consider it proper etiquette for anyone with a burning passion for North American trees.
I recently explored a remote forest in search of American chestnut trees. By the end of the day, I had found dozens of American chestnuts — one of which was the largest I had ever seen.
Fortunately, I brought my camera along to document the experience. If you’re interested in seeing several beautiful American chestnuts, check out the brand-new video!
Thanks for reading and watching. Have you seen any American chestnuts lately?
In 1857, the Ohio State Legislature famously wrote:
The passenger pigeon needs no protection. Wonderfully prolific, having the vast forests of the North as its breeding grounds, traveling hundreds of miles in search of food, it is here today and elsewhere tomorrow…
Forty-five years later, the last wild passenger pigeon was shot and killed in Indiana. In 1914, the last member of the species died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo.
The passenger pigeon — a species once numbering in the billions — became extinct in a few short decades.
Barring a miracle in the field of de-extinction, no human alive today will ever see a living passenger pigeon that isn’t a biological novelty. No human alive today will stand in awe as massive flocks of passenger pigeons eclipse the sun and darken the skies.
But whether or not scientists actually figure out how to resurrect the dead, there is something many humans can experience today: the legacy left behind by the passenger pigeon on the North American landscape.
In a brand-new video, I discuss how the passenger pigeon profoundly altered North American forests.
I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of Shakespeare, but a particular line from Hamlet has always stuck with me.
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
These words come to mind particularly when I think about the current state of our forests.
Understandably, people are worried about the “unprecedented changes” occurring in woodland ecosystems. Invasive species are taking over, diseases are killing trees, and desirable organisms are failing to regenerate.
At any given moment, the state of our forests can seem rather bleak.
But when we recall the words of William Shakespeare, our perception of this matter shifts — especially when we consider something fascinating about eastern hemlock.
Many people know that an insect is currently threatening the health of eastern hemlock. Nothing about this situation seems good until we understand a critical piece of information: eastern hemlock is no stranger to threats.
In a brand new video, I discuss an important event of the past that may help us better understand modern-day forests.
Speaking of reading landscapes more effectively, we can predict future ecosystems based on current observations.
Consider a mature oak forest, for example.
Looking at an oak forest today, we might hope that conditions will remain stable for many years. Any native plant enthusiast will tell you that oak forests are repositories of biodiversity. Without oaks, other organisms that depend on oaks suffer.
But a quick glance at mature oak forests today tells us that significant changes are occurring. These changes, it turns out, aren’t particularly favorable to oaks.
Ecologists are worried about something that’s occurring underneath the towering oaks. This phenomenon has been happening to oak forests for the past 100 years. According to ecologists, it will persist without active management.
In a brand-new video, I address this important ecological issue.
Paths I Walk 
You must be logged in to post a comment.