reshroomED

Ahh, silly me. Was supposed to be a pm, which it now is. ed

If you can deal with an unrooted cutting, and cover postage, lob me an addy and I'll send you a small cut. ed

Belated best wishes mate. Hope all's going well for you and yours. ed

If there are any Hobart members here would anyone be interested in picking up and posting a package for me? Totally legal - vehicle shockers - and you'll be able to inspect this (e-Bay purchase). There's a nice Eileen cut in it for anyone interested. cheers, ed

On a more serious note, does anyone have experience that they're willing to share specifically relating to Japanese swords? I've been offered an exceptional dai-katana but know naught of importing such. What hurdles do i need to jump and advice of any way to minimise the number thereof would be greatly appreciated. cheers ed

There ought to be an SAB Forum "Quote Of The Year" award, and you'd get my vote for best post ever. ed

I saw you looking at them on the Sunday but was distracted by fungii before I mentioned it. Funnily enough, about 15 yrs back I was driving from Narrandera to Wagga Wagga at night and came across a migration of real yabbies (C. destructor). They were crossing the road in their hundreds and I half-filled the back of the Landcruiser with them, mostly around 1/4lb (apparently the biggest move fastest according to a few old bushies I've spoken to about the phenomenon). Like eels, they sense when their water is going to dry up and head for he nearest river, days before it happens - farm dams were all reasonably full at the time, so they're sharper than me. ed

The word "crook" is slang (Australian vernacular) for ill. As in sick. I have a bone-marrow disease that messes with both my mind and body, hence the comment (not whingeing, just explaining). Was not meant as an attack, and many apologies if I made it sound that way. My comments still stand though. If you've never picked one, I'd suggest you refrain from posting in identification threads (again this is not an attack, but advice - do with it what you will). Assuming that what we call "gallerina" and what you call "gallerina" is a rather large leap, considering the climate differences, and the lack of any authoritive study of Aussie shrooms. By far the most shroom-related deaths in this country are from immigrants picking some that looked identical to what they'd eaten all ther lives in their homeland. I generally like to read your posts mutant as they're mostly well-thought out and insightful. This was not an attack at you (and I sincerely apologise if I sounded that way, as no offense was meant). I wouldn't hazard a guess at identifying any Greek shroom, was suggesting that this is a prudent stand to take, and suggesting that you do the same. Aplogies again if i"ve caused offence. Shit, without your ancestors I'd not be able to partake of a good ouzo . ed

Ahhh, I'm a f**king dill, that's what comes from posting when I'm crook. I usually refrain from such, but always try to answer asap when a new member asks this question so as to discourage "trying it and seeing what happens". I did think that I made it clear that the first two pics in this thread were not a sub, if not then I'm saying it now. All the other statements in my above post I'll stand by though. And stating that the last print looks "OK" is far from correct, it looks particularly like a gallerina print (although guessing the shroom from only a print is always gonna give you a large error-factor). The mushroom that made that print was not P. sub though. If you want to call me on that one I'll happily send you a bag of gallerina's and you can post a trip-report, although I'd ask you to do it soon after the 'gastro' goes. Another day or so and you wouldn't be posting anything. FFS, just noticed you're in Greece. Are you an ex-pat with local (Victoria, Australia) knowledge, or just guessing? In all seriousness (no offfense meant), if it's the latter I'd suggest you refrain from posting in such threads. As stated above, if there is *any* doubt chuck it. Also, it's better not posting 'your' fiinds in another's 'is this the real deal' thread as it leads to confusion as exampled by my first post. happy hunting, ed

First pic is not P.subaeruginosa. Some of those in your group photo may be though. If it doesn't stain royal blue, turf it, is the best advice that I can give you. That being said, subs fruiting in suburbia tend to blue less than those in the wild from my experience, but I've yet to see one that doesn't stain within minutes of picking. Your prints seem to be of two different species, one blackish, the other red/ochreish (is that a word?). Subs prints should be black/purple. It helps to spore-print subs on black media as this highlights the purpleness (again ?). Eating poisonous fungi is a bad way to die. You'll get bad gastro for a day or so, then come good. Two days later your liver and kidneys will die and you a short time later. It's quite refreshing to hear someone ask this question and provide habitat description and a print vs the usual "are these good to eat" post, so kudos to you. ed

Apologies to everyone who fronted, as I expected there to be much more of the specicic fungus available. A late season this year, as indicated by lepiotas etc still actively fruiting. Great to meet those I'd not met before and equally as good to see those that I had. YM, I've got your bits and pieces so will get them to you asap (fancy a day's hunting ?) Bad luck to miss those who travelled but did not hook up with us (maps were available, and the publican at the Beech Forest pub had directions for any campers looking for us - did you blokes hit the pub at all? Re the ranger, I bailed on the principle that it's better six people paying three fines rather than six paying one each. The major problem that she had was (apparently) the fire being left unattended. As gecko put it " we had to actively encourage the fire" (due to cold ground and constant rain) and "digging a pit for the fire would simply have collectd water and killed the fire". The site was left far cleaner than it was when we arrived and there was ZERO chance of the fire doing anything but going out. I'm still recovering from the trip, so more to come. ed

Apparently this happens all the time with bridgesii, see MSS for more details. He knows far more about "Eileen" than I. cheers ed * edited for spelling

Thought this might be handy. 30 minute USB microscope ed

I'm just about to start packing, then a few chores and I'll be off (probably around 2pm this arvo). If anyone is looking for maps after this, Bread Filter has the links, so pm him. See ya down there. ed

I'll probably be off the net as of lunch-time tomorrow, so anyone seeking maps after then should pm Bread Filter, who has graciously taken up the task of making the map links available. cheers, ed

If not, YM or I could possibly pick you up at Colac train station. You'll need to be quick though, 'cause it's getting close now. ed

Pity about that Jono, was looking forward to meeting you at last What time are people looking at arriving? I'm thinking mid-arvo atm, but will tailor this to suit the earliest arrival. ed

Fantastic. Wishing her a happy, healthy, and prosperous life. ed

Go to whereis.com.au and plan a route to "Beech Forest", the campsite is only 10-15kms away. ed

I've just removed the links to the maps, as one member is no longer coming due to concerns of me having made the information publicly available. I didn't think this to be an issue, as we'd already agreed on the spot and mentioned it's name (so a quick google would provide plenty of tourist brochures etc, all with directions/maps on how to get there). Apologies if I've offended anyone. Pm me if you'd like the maps. ed

Any chance of a show of arms as to who is coming? Need to take cuttings soon. ed

A couple of general purpose rods live in my car, so I'll have them, but given the fishable area I'll probably sit back and watch the visitors bait-fish. Taking into account the amount of water that I saw moving yesterday (not all that much, but definitely fishable), I may even put in an ultra-light spinning rod as it looked quite good for pan-sized fish in the fast, shallow runs (and they do make a nice brecky). I'll also have a very quiet little Honda generator and lighting, so if people need electricity it will be available (only 1KW though). There's a 60l 12V fridge in the back of my bus, so I can provide refridgeration for foodstuffs (and maybe a few drinks) so don't waste too much money on ice. No hot showers this year though, the bastards have blocked off my spot where I could park on the river. Fargin' Iceholes Nearly forgot to mention foot-wear. Boots are appropriate, the bigger the better. As stated previously, anywhere bar a pine-plantation will be very wet Only nine sleeps now, boys and girls. ed

Quite common in the Northern hills on the edge of the Otways (seem to prefer a dryer habitat than subs), mostly in pine from memory. ed

Sorry mate, but I'm not messing with YM. He's well-known as a man not to be trifled with in Colac. Maps (1.5MB .rar) are available giving directions to the campsite. Pm me if interested. Worth noting is that last petrol is Colac, and Beech Forest consists solely of a pub (so no supplies) and grog prices are far more than Colac. Stocking up in Geelong or prior is probably preferrable. Local forecast is "partly cloudy" for the Friday and Saturday with 7°-15°C and 7°-14°C being the respective temperature ranges expected (For what a bureau forecast is worth) But it *will* be much colder than 7°C down there, so please bring appropriate clothing/sleeping gear. As Lampy mentioned, it's very wet walking through the bush so waterproof gear and a change of clothes are wise. Lampy, if you bring the wood, that saves me some messing about and would be excellent. I'll still bring the small chainsaw just in case. Went for a squiz yesterday (mainly for the mapping) but had a few very quick looks at various spots on the way home. Saw zilch in the way of subs, but no lepiotas, and only the occasional amanita, so I'd think things will be going well in another week or so - especially after taking Lampy's pic into consideration. ed

I've got the maps made, but need to do an actual drive to get the distances and road-signs exact. I'll do my best to have them completed in the next few days. To estimate your journey try whereis.com,Google Maps, etc (the camp-site is about ten-fifteen minutes drive from Beech Forest). ed