Beware the B'game Shrooms

I meant to post something about local mushrooms a couple of weeks ago when a particularly striking one popped up in my front yard.  I got talking to some neighbors and one mentioned his dog eating some of the shrooms in his yard--which cannot be good and did not work out too well for the dog or my neighbor's rug.  The Merc/Times reminded me today with this piece

With our recent wet weather, you probably are seeing mushrooms popping up all around you. Mushrooms are the visible, reproductive structures of fungus, called fruiting bodies. Their job is to house and disseminate reproductive spores.  Most fungi, even those in the lawn, are beneficial. They help decompose organic matter and release nutrients to our plants and soil.

If you click through to the Merc site, you can read about various local varieties, but I happen to know a guy who was a commercial mushroom farmer in the Santa Cruz mountains and he identified the one in my yard as the psychedelic variety amanita muscaria that is apparently related to the Death Cap but different.  Here's the one from my yard so you know what to look out for.

Comments

[AR]

Thank you.

[When it rains, it spores...]

You might have missed the Annual Santa Cruz Mushroom Festival in January, but if you join the Fungus Federal of Santa Cruz, you'll qualify for this other big event.

Experience the Phenomenal Wine and Mushroom Event

WhenSat, March 12, 7pm – 8pm

Where630 King Valley Road, Scotts Valley (Scotts Valley Community Center) (map)

Description

One of the good things in life is Coming Soon - The Wine and Mushroom Event

The Wine and Mushroom Event is always fantastic and is the highlight of our culinary activities. Jeff Emery of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard brings together about six exceptional SC area wineries who allow us to sample their great wines.

We are planning a continuous evening of wine and appetizers followed by delectable desserts. It will be a phenomenal EVENING OF SAMPLING WONDERFUL WINES AND FABULOUS FOOD. Plan to enjoy an evening of tasting first-class wines provided by a number of excellent Santa Cruz Mountain Appellation wineries and foods prepared by Fungus Federation members.

Read more at: http://ffsc.us/​node/603

I haven't done shrooms since college with my friend and now famous author, Nick, and our other friend and now famous author, Anthony, and then there was that one other time with our friend and now famous Cable Network Producer, Casey.

But hey, Shrooms are getting serious research legitimacy for all sorts of ailments these days...http://thefreethoughtproject.com/researchers-treating-addiction-adhd-ptsd-magic-mushrooms-working/

[BB Gun]

While I enjoy mushrooms on my steak, I don't like them vomited on my rug by my pooch. And maybe this goes to the character traits of a dog, but he can't resist them, even though he is clearly being poisoned and sometimes can't eat for a day or two. The Pet Hospital is not a fun place to hang out.

Any recommendations out there on how to get rid of them. They seem to reappear every few days.