Rain, rain, and more rain. Another gardener said we are 11 inches behind in rainfall in our area. It feels like we are making up for that in November.

The climate is so interesting here. It’s dry in the summer and wet in the fall and winter. Plants need to be able to survive the boom-and-bust weather cycle.

You know what loves rain? Mushrooms!

We have an incredible assortment of mushrooms in our yard this year. They are all different: so many shapes, textures, sizes, and colors. Some are otherworldly, like something you would see in a Star Trek episode. I am not tempted to eat them, by the way. I was almost poisoned by a dish someone prepared with wild-harvested mushrooms once, and the experience made me overly cautious. (They wound up in the emergency room while I looked on in horror. I was asked about 100 times if I was feeling okay. Do I have a stomach of steel? Maybe. But that’s not something I want to put to the test.) I would gather mushrooms with a professional if I ever had the chance, but I will stick with store-bought until then and admire them from a safe distance. Forage with care!