Editor:

Tis the season for mushrooms.

I couldn’t resist taking this picture of Shaggy Manes (at right). They started popping out on a lawn and they reminded me of Japanese mushroom spirits.

Shaggy Manes are a member of the Coprinus (Inky Cap) family. When they mature, the gills and cap will autodigest to disperse spores.

When they are young, and just white inside and outside, they are an extremely edible mushroom. We picked some a few days ago and sauteed them in butter, garlic and worchestire sauce.

The inky caps likely inspired the following poem by Shelley:

Their mass rotted off them flake by flake

Til the thick stalk struck like a murderer’s stake,

Where rags of loose flesh yet tremble on high

Infecting the winds that wander by.

To help people feel more confident about mushrooms, there are not only great workshops around but great fieldguides by David Arora.

Additionally, joining a mycological society or taking a course in mycology is a great way to improve your identification skills.

For more information, you can visit http://www.fungi.ca/mycogroups.htm.

Karen Fediuk

Ladysmith

Editor:

Twenty-six years ago, my fiance, now my husband, purchased a one-of-a-kind poncho knitted by a member of the Cowichan Tribes. My husband and I could not know, then, we would be residents of the Cowichan Valley, the very place my poncho was lovingly crafted by a Cowichan Tribes knitter.

As the years have gone by, I have come to realize this poncho is sacred not only because of its uniqueness, but because it is a symbol of the culture of Cowichan Tribes.

Whenever I wear this poncho, I am humbled I have been allowed to share in this culture.

“Knock off” sweaters can never, ever allow the wearers to participate in a rich culture and is incredibly disrespectful of the Cowichan Tribes.

Wendy Ewing

Duncan

Editor:

It would be nice if  we lived in a world where the Olympics stood for “the best being showcased.”

Perhaps, when Pierre de Coubertin revived the Olympics in 1896 said, “for the essential thing in life is not to conquer but to struggle well” we did live in that kind of world.

Today, however  “struggling well” doesn’t bring in endorsement dollars, and winning at any cost has triumphed.

Hosting the Olympics is wrong. The public will spend probably six billion dollars. The Olympics will suck millions of dollars out of our economy just when Liberal cuts to schools, the medical system, courts, and other government services are already having devastating impact.

While some projects planned to be built for the Olympics may be desirable, they are absolutely the wrong priority when we are cutting funds for school sports programs and slashing $77,000,000 from community groups.

Instead, lets build more small arenas, soccer fields, baseball diamonds, running tracks and gyms. Let’s provide more gym instructors, and coaches.

The Olympics — an overblown, over priced professional sports business, is about making money, usually at the public expense, and by diverting both money and attention from solving real problems with flashy smokescreens.

Robert Smits

Ladysmith

Editor:

Reading in the paper, and on the news, Cassidy has been labelled “The Killer Road.”

I happen to be one of those people who have to see for themselves. I have tested this road many times.

My final test was a couple weeks ago. I started at the first 80km zone, to the last one by the bridge. The slow lane I was in exceeded the speed limit by almost 10 km. Between the two speed zones 12 vehicles and two semi-trucks, passed me.

That alone was proof enough for me why it’s called “The Killer Road.”

I have driven hundreds of thousands of miles, in my day, including trips across Canada, Alaska, Yukon, N.W.T.

I can honestly say I have not yet driven on a killer road. Some roads are better than others. Road signs are put there for a reason.There are many roads that you have to pay close attention to, such as the Hope to Princeton, and the roads to Tofino to Ucuelet. The biggest killers are the speed and tailgating.

One thing you don’t want is some [jerk], in an 18 wheeler, 10 feet off your bumper. (I have had that experience, many times).

I have driven truck myself, and I do know when a truck can stop, and when it can’t.

For all the roads I have driven, there are no killer roads, but an awful lot of killer drivers.

With half decent driving and a little good luck, you can survive. Slow down.

Jim Szasz

Ladysmith

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