D is for Death Cap Mushroom.....

It's probably safe to say that a great number of accidental poisonings were a result of mistaking one thing for something else. Case in point--- the death cap mushroom....

This harmless-looking fungus is responsible for most of the world's deaths by fungal poisoning. The problem lies in the fact that this deadly mushroom closely resembles several different edible varieties and the unsuspecting woodland hiker might be tempted to gather a few, not knowing what they had collected for their last evening meal....

Knowing that a single death cap mushroom could have enough toxin to kill a healthy adult, it's enough to put a person off mushrooms for life.

The toxic traits of this forest dweller have been known since ancient times, lending itself as a possible contributor to the death of the Emperor Claudius at the hands of his wife, Agrippina. Claudius was known to have a penchant for mushrooms. His wife was known to have a penchant for poisoning, having done away with her current husband to marry Claudius.

Though the exact cause of Claudius' death is still questioned, one account holds that he was fed a meal of his favorite mushrooms laced with an emulsion of the death cap, ensuring his timely death would set up Agrippina's son, Nero, as the next emperor of Rome.

Having a taste for mushrooms myself, I think maybe it'd be a good idea to skip the mushrooms on the next pizza I order, just to be safe...

Death Cap Daze

What's that strange-tasting little morsel,

sitting atop my fire-roasted flatbread?

Distant cousin to the forest morel,

what's that funny buzzing in my head?

--- e.a.s. demers

A to Z reflections....

Another A to Z challenge comes to an end--- another collection of posts and poetry have been written, another deep breath of relief is released. For my fellow bloggers that survived as well, it's another 'challenge-completed' notch carved into the writing desk. I've come to enjoy my yearly foray into the world of all things alphabetical. This was my third year, though it was only the second year I had a workable theme (which made the challenge substantially easier than the first year I attempted this challenge.) And, though my first year was difficult because my focus was so scattered, I found this year was more difficult because I lost the enthusiasm that came with the first year excitement----excitement which helped me plug along until the end of the challenge. Year 3 was a success in the sense that I completed the challenge, though, this was the year that almost wasn't---- Somewhere about a third of the way through the challenge, I seriously considered...

Bitter Honey

Weaving dreams of beguiling gold, a future's price for happiness. What secrets do you, determined, hold? asks the summer wind's soft caress. A guarded name, a hidden hope. Spinning wheels clutching time, grasping straw that falls away, What dreams may come, we soon may find, won't recall at end of day. A cherished life, a memory lost.

A million lives, beneath a single sky.....

Though our feet leave different prints,our tongues sound different words, there's a mirrored rhythm in the beating of our hearts. Though born in different worlds, our eyes sharpened 'neath different moons, there's an unspoken truth in the warmth of our touch. We may walk in different strides and dream different dreams, we may speak in different voices, maybe swim in different streams. It's plain to see, when dark night falls, as all the stars shine through, that underneath it all, there's no difference 'tween me and you.

From the Inkwell, From the Vein.....

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