One area I’d like to improve upon is my identification of mushrooms. Right now it is nil. Nada. Nothing.

They are such intricate creatures, fungi. These are beautiful; the white and brown are such a beautiful combination.

Find a good piece of rotting material, wood, animal, excrement, whatever—and up grows a mushroom. Sometimes over night.

I’ve been struggling lately with the idea of leaving Florida. I do have a Florida post brewing in my head, but my problem is mostly because it was here in Florida that I really learned to see nature around me. I learned the ecosystems and started learning to identify plants and animals and took a deep appreciation to it all.

One of my bff’s Michelle is great at putting things back into perspective. To her, I’ve conquered Florida. I’d disagree—there’s a lot I haven’t done here. But, what I took from it was that there is beautiful things to explore everywhere. Tiny mushrooms exist in Texas. Ghost orchids don’t, but I shall have to find something else rare and exotic. Kemp’s ridley sea turtles might suffice. So, today I sat down and refreshed myself on the eco zones of Texas.

I don’t know how it is in other states, but Texas history and geography is very important in the school education system. Or at least it was when I grew up. I mean, Texas was it’s own country…! We take things seriously. But, instead the Everglades, sandhill regions, and the hardwood hammocks of Florida, I will learn about the post oak belt, the cross-timbers, the piney woods and the Edwards plateau.

And it looks awesome.