Mushroom Hunt

Yesterday morning brought file copying, photo work, Leland's laptop configuration, and Minecraft between tasks. Afternoon mushroom hunting after overpriced Dirt Road lunch yielded few edibles but many other types and potential photo spots. Return drive offered gorgeous golden light—bright low sun, clear sky with wispy clouds, golden trees—unphotographed but pleasant. Evening work on Joey trilogy Patreon posts interrupted by stiff yoga, then Greatest Controversies comparing Jewish versus Christian Messiah beliefs, Hogan's Heroes sneaking Hitler's assassin list and spy extraction via balloon.

Seeking What Can't Be Forced

October 17, 2025

Another random flower shot

Spent the morning in that productive multi-tasking mode where computer operations create natural breaks. Copying files while working on photos, configuring Leland's laptop between processing sessions, playing Minecraft when all the machines were busy with their own work. The kind of morning where progress happens across multiple projects simultaneously, each waiting period filled with attention to something else.

Decided to go mushroom hunting in the afternoon. The season is right, the weather has been cooperative, and the forests should be producing. Stopped by Dirt Road for lunch on the way. Unfortunately overpriced—I guess I should have remembered that from previous visits. Sometimes you need reminders that certain places don't offer value proportional to cost.

Tromped around in the woods for a while, searching for edible mushrooms among the forest floor's offerings. Found very few edibles despite the promising conditions. Lots of other types though—the forest was producing fungi in abundance, just not the varieties I was hunting. But the expedition yielded unexpected value: some nice potential photo shoot spots. The forest locations with their streams, the light filtering through trees, the natural textures—all worth remembering for future creative work when mushrooms aren't the goal.

On the way back the light was gorgeous. The sun was bright and low in the west, creating that particular golden quality that only happens in autumn afternoons. The sky was clear with wispy clouds catching the light. Lots of golden trees glowing in the slanted illumination. I didn't get any pictures—sometimes you're just experiencing rather than documenting—but it was a pleasant experience. The kind of moment that reminds you why you go out into the world, even when the stated purpose (mushroom hunting) doesn't deliver what you expected.

Came back and worked on a really interesting trilogy of Patreon posts from my shoot with Joey in August. The images had been waiting for proper attention, and now seemed the right time to process and present them. In the middle of this effort I went to yoga. I was very stiff—maybe because I missed last Tuesday, breaking the regular attendance pattern. Sometimes even one skipped session is enough to set the body back. The stiffness made practice challenging but not impossible, just uncomfortable in that productive way that suggests muscles being asked to do more than they've been willing.

Came back and finished up the Patreon posts. The trilogy came together nicely, the images from Joey's shoot finding their proper presentation and context. Creative work that started in August finally reaching completion in October, the processing time adding perspective that immediate editing might miss.

Watched the Greatest Controversies exploring what Jews believe about their Messiah versus what Christians believe. Very different conceptions—the Christian Messiah as a suffering and divine savior who has already come, the Jewish Messiah as a powerful human leader who will come to restore Israel and bring peace. The same scriptural texts interpreted through completely different theological frameworks, producing incompatible conclusions about the same prophetic traditions.

Watched Hogan's Heroes. The first episode involved trying to sneak a list of Hitler's assassins out of the country. The process was, of course, massively convoluted but worked perfectly—the show's formula requiring baroque complications that somehow resolve flawlessly. The second episode featured trying to sneak a spy out of the country while Stalag 13 was locked down by the Gestapo. A balloon was the obvious answer. Hah! The show's absurdist logic, where impossible schemes succeed through creative audacity and implausible planning.

The day reinforced something about seeking: sometimes what you're hunting for doesn't appear, but the hunt itself produces unexpected value. Few edible mushrooms but potential photo locations. No pictures of gorgeous light but the experience of seeing it. Creative work that took months to complete but benefited from that patience. Not every expedition delivers its stated goal, but paying attention to what actually emerges often reveals value you weren't looking for.