Monthly Archives: December 2015

Mushrooms: The good, the bad, and the ugly

...and the Weird and the Wonderful, too. Story and photos by Inga Hinnerichsen Originally published in 2015 December Lotus Enter the mysterious world of Fungi. For the longest time they were considered plants, but in the late 1960's they were classified as their own Kingdom. Just like plants, the Kingdom contains Families which contain Genera which in turn contain Species. It is estimated that there are over a million species of fungi worldwide. Science has barely scratched the surface of the potential of their use in pharmacology. Penicillin is derived from a mold fungus. Psilocybin is a hallucinogen found in over 140 species and has been found helpful in treating depression, anxieties and other mental disorders. Fungi might even be able to clean up oil and chemical spills. Fungi help us make bread, cheese, beer and wine, besides making delicious…
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Tales from The Tip

Story and photos by Inga Hinnerichsen Originally published in 2015 December Lotus Is anyone interested in spending a week at the Long Point Tip?" Diane Salter inquired during one of our watercolour painting sessions in Port Rowan. Diane had won the "Trip to the Tip" as a Birdathon prize supporting the Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO). Wow. I jumped at the chance! It turned out that three of us, Diane, Karin Jonasson and I plus Stu McKenzie and Ron Ridout clambered into the aluminium craft used to ship supplies and bird banders to and from the Tip on the morning of October 6. The boat was loaded with gear and supplies, both ours and the banders'. We had to bring food for the week + drinking water (and wine), sleeping bags, clothing for all weather conditions and cameras, binoculars and…
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