A Few Mushrooms

Yesterday began with early rising and photo editing, then mushroom hunting with Larry—neither haul nor bust, just a few mushrooms and fun tromping through the woods. Pizza and beer at Benny's, dropped Larry off, met Michael at Coffee Culture about publishing his short story book which will help resurrect my publishing flow. More photo work at home, learning from Claude interactions, discovering dodging and burning needs tablet not mouse. Evening binge-watching My Favorite Martian—ancient sitcom proving more interesting than expected, Uncle Martin's wise vulnerability creating morality tales rather than pure comedy.

Modest Yields and New Collaborations

October 19, 2025

Got up fairly early yesterday and edited a photo before the day's activities began. Starting with creative work sets a productive tone, accomplishing something substantial before other demands emerge.

Not a chanterelle, but fun

Picked up Larry and we went mushroom hunting. It wasn't a haul and it wasn't a bust—we got a few, which felt about right. Sometimes success means moderate results rather than extremes. But the real value was tromping through the woods together, the combination of purpose and companionship that makes the hunt enjoyable regardless of yield. The forest in autumn, the search pattern, the conversation between finding—all worth the effort even without filling baskets.

Went to Benny's for pizza and beer afterward. The post-hunt meal, celebrating modest success and enjoying food that tastes better after physical activity in cooler air.

Dropped Larry off and went to Coffee Culture to meet Michael. He wants to publish another book and has asked me to help. It's a book of short stories and sounds interesting. More importantly, it'll help encourage the publishing flow that I need to resurrect. I've let that work languish while focusing on photography, but publishing deserves attention too. Michael's project provides external motivation and structure, creating deadlines and obligations that will force me back into that practice. Michael's a great storyteller and shared half a dozen stories during our conversation—some likely destined for the book, others just the natural overflow of someone who thinks in narratives.

Came home and worked on photos some more. I'm really enjoying interacting with Claude on these photos. I'm learning a lot—it's pushing my skill set into territory I hadn't explored systematically. But dodging and burning is a bit out of reach with current setup. It's hard to do precise local adjustments with a mouse. I need to fire up my tablet, get back to using proper tools for detailed work. The limitation isn't knowledge anymore; it's interface. The tablet may remove that constraint.

Ended the day binge-watching My Favorite Martian. Ancient sitcoms are appealing right now—something about their simplicity and episodic structure feels right. But this series surprised me with interesting morality tales. Not what I expected from 1960s comedy about a Martian living with a human. Uncle Martin is older and wiser, but he's still vulnerable and makes mistakes. The show brings these elements together thoughtfully—his superior knowledge and technology don't make him infallible. He struggles with human emotions, makes poor decisions, faces consequences. It's less pure mindless comedy than I expected. There's actual character depth and ethical complexity woven through the humor. I like it.

The day accumulated around modest but meaningful progress: a few mushrooms, new publishing collaboration, advancing photo skills, discovering unexpected depth in old entertainment. Not everything needs to be dramatic or definitive. Sometimes "a few" is exactly enough.