Ted’s essays

growing my own mushrooms

Through Darby Adult Education, I took a class on growing Oyster mushrooms. Chase covered A LOT about mushrooms, what they are, how they grow and more. The part we think of as mushrooms is a mere portion of the organism’s reproductive system. For reference, however, it is conveniently called “the fruit”, and the facility for encouraging its production, the fruiting chamber. There is much into the process before it is ready for the fruiting chamber. Six weeks of class got us to this stage. The first picture has a jar that was infected, ruined somewhere early in the processes. Chase suggested finding a suitable environment to plant it in, hoping the natural world would enable its recovery. The next […]

flashes in the night sky

I do not know what they are, but am certain they are not of nature. Between 10:30 and 11:00 I took my puppy out for his final relief before bedding down. It was under a perfectly clear, starry sky. Due south, in the mostly uninhabited Bitterroot Mountains I thought I saw a brilliant flash of light. No clouds. No thunder. Just a ball of brilliant light from a great distance to the south. Now I am pondering and paying attention. Several of them followed. I was not timing or recording, but every 3 to 5 minutes another ball of light greater than the biggest lightening flashes I have seen, but with no sound; no thunder following. I have no answers. […]

driven … by what?

From Basics of Resistance by Claire Wolff and Kit Perez: “Every person is driven, at the core, by a deep-seated need. An individual may crave acceptance, love, power, money, recognition, honor, or something else. In many cases, people don’t know themselves well enough to know what their primal drive is, or they tend to see their drive as solely positive. They might think their drive is “to serve” or to “stand up for liberty,” but these aren’t primal drives; those desires are driven by underlying primal drives. To reach the core, we need to ask ourselves why, enough times to that everything is stripped down to basic elements.” Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Hmmm, I’m not sure it is […]

dog psychologist

Advice to a friend whose aging Akita has been supplemented with a Rotweiller cross pup. Pro bono, community service, I’m working my specialty for free ๐Ÿ˜‰ You have what could turn into an awesome wing-man dog. The Rotwieller side is ready to manifest in the right hands, the right home. HOWEVER, you and your Akita have turned you into a BARN-CAT type of dog lover. Yeah. Hi. Where’s the food. THX. TTFN. What you have is a dog who will fit great with an affectionate, but courageous leader. If his Man is fearless, this dog as an adult will go willingly, eagerly into any battle that comes their way… that is, as a team … for his man. But this […]

3 second attention span

Even a normal toddler can focus for a whole minute, or several minutes even on a single, natural occurrence. Something really fascinating like a butterfly, flower or dog can keep their attention on that single object for several minutes. This can be, and quite often is “FIXED” … at all ages. I was out tonight giving my puppy outdoor playtime before bed. I happened to see a television running in a well-lit room some 20-30 meters away. From that distance one can quickly see the big picture – the details and sound don’t cloud the view. BAM-BAM-BAM the scene changes every 2 to 3 seconds. FLASH-FLASH-FLASH this brightly colored screen keeps eyes on the movement and mind from considering ANYTHING. […]