November is just about here, and the Mendocino Mushroom Madness events are about to start. More importantly, the mushrooms themselves are off to a great start — check out the latest forecast from local mushroom expert Eric Schramm). We took Peet and Gilmour out for a walk on Sunday in the Jackson Forest, and saw mushrooms everywhere. I don’t know how to identify them, so I just take pictures and move on. There are some mushroom identification walks at the Botanical Gardens in December and January if you want to know more. Pretty much anyplace you take a walk or hike now, you will see mushrooms. Now we’re also starting to see vehicles parked along the roads where people go out to gather mushrooms. It’s time!
Guest Posting and Photo by Larry Wagner 
Picnics can be group affairs or romantic getaways. At Big River Beach in Mendocino, on the east side of Highway 1, you can have both. You can plop down on the warm sandy beach with a blanket for two or have a group picnic with a fire. Part of the experience is wondering at the River’s edge or walking under the Highway 1 bridge and dipping your toes into the chilly water (52-54 degrees) where the river meets the sea. With binoculars you can view nesting birds in the pines and redwoods on the opposite shore or watch as canoers and kayakers make their way up the river. This day, I came up on a different kind of entertainment: a group of art students from the Mendocino Art Center painting painting the landscape with pastels.