A wet spring is springing up mushrooms

It has been a wet, wet, wet spring here in Denver. I moved here in 2017 and I have not experienced such a verdant spring since arriving. As such, I’ve already been getting more than my fair share of mushroom inquiries. Recently, I’ve answered questions from a concerned dog owner who passed along pictures of a Stropharia mushroom, and some primordial birds nest fungi, growing in the wet mulch of a local dog run. Apart from telling him to pick and toss the mushrooms and enjoy the birds nest fungi, there’s not much else that can be done other than monitor what your four-legged furry child sticks in its mouth.

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But this got me thinking, what have people been seeing in this wet, wet, wet spring? To nd out, I decided to jump onto iNaturalist and see what others around Denver have put on the app since June 1. In the rst 12 days of June in Denver County, there was a total of 103 mushroom observations on iNaturalist, representing 42 species. Several observations of the beautiful — but potentially poisonous — Chlorophyllum were made.

ere’s also the beautiful Lepiota lilacia that has been surfacing in mulch and yards. en there’s the fun, but adult rated, Phallus hadriani. ese are fun because they often start o as rubbery eggs. I get a kick from the startled gardeners believing aliens have laid o spring in their mulch beds. When they come out of their shells, these impudent alien forms de nitely don’t conform to polite societal standards.

What sort of surprises me are the lack of Agaricus barnardii observations on iNaturalist. It’s surprising because they’re so abundant in Denver’s parks that they’re almost a weed. However, they’re easy to identify because they look like a fat mushrooms like this that return stumps back to the soil. join your local mushroom club. Check out the Colorado Myco- ate curator of fungi for the Denver Botanic Gardens. laughing. e plane went through a little more bumpiness before nding smoother air and with each bump and drop of the plane, the children continued to squeal as if they were on an amusement park ride. I believe their laughter and relaxed attitude served to calm the nerves of others who didn’t nd the turbulence so amusing.

Life is full of turbulence, isn’t it?

It just seems that every single day we are at odds with one another over something. e turbulence of politics, of cancel culture, of societal pressures, and just overall discontent and disagreements brewing everywhere. Sometimes the turbulence is frightening as it escalates and becomes erce. And sometimes the turbulence is slight, but still enough to cause us some fear, worry, and doubt.

It has been said that our character isn’t de ned by what happens to us, it is de ned by how we handle what happens to us. e turbulence happening in the world doesn’t de ne who we are, how we respond to the turbulence is a much better barometer of who we are. Sometimes we have to just buckle up, fastening our seatbelts and riding out the turbulence as it will eventually smooth out. Other times we may need to hold onto one another, supporting and encouraging each other as we ght our way through the turbulence. And then maybe we can look at the silliest things that feel like turbulence and like the children on the airplane, laugh our way through it. ere are plenty of real-world problems that we face as a society, and we should pay attention to those and become as informed as possible, focusing on the facts instead of opinions and rants of others. It just seems like there is much more noise and turbulence around the silliest and smallest things that get us so worked up. For me, in these situations, my go-to response is laughter, as it really keeps me focused on the more important things in life.

How do you handle the turbulence? Do you buckle up and ride it out? Do you hold on to others? Or do you decide that the best response is to smile and laugh it o ?

I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we can decide to respond instead of react to all that the world has to throw at us, it really will be a better than good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.

BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

They proudly call themselves the B.O.B. from the 303, bringing the Big Easy up to high altitudes with their soul-gripping blend of music stylings with New Orleans jazz.

Known for its vibrant nightlife and colorful buildings is the French Quarter. e French Quarter is the heart of New Orleans, and jazz is its heartbeat.

Breathing life into Bourbon Street are the sounds of brass instruments and drums continuously owing out of numerous jazz clubs. With just a trumpet, clarinet, berry sax, alto sax, trombone, snare, bass drum and tuba, the Brothers of Brass are bringing that one and only soulful heartbeat to Colorado.

“It’s a cultural tradition that most of the country doesn’t have,” said Armando Lopez, a member of the Brothers of Brass.

e group’s repertoire is a simmering mix of slow and angsty tunes and fast-paced tempos with a kick of familiar melodies. e Brothers of Brass blend of other genres like R&B, hip hop and psychedelic jam rock into each set.

A day after a tornado hit Highlands Ranch in late June, the Brothers of Brass dished out a much-needed evening of fun for the community. Soon, everyone went from clapping to full-out dancing, allowing concertgoers a chance to relax.

“It was nice to see so many kids, like, actually getting up out of their seats and the older people getting up and dancing and enjoying the music,” said Khalil Simon, who is originally from New Orleans. “It’s not so often that we get to play like New Orleans brass music for a crowd like this and appreciate it, that’s pretty unique.”

Not only did the band members interact with one another on stage throughout the night, they got the crowd involved by singing along and repeating after them. Although it was an outdoor concert, there was no excuse for the crowd not being loud enough.

Among some crowd favorites were “Just the Two of Us” by Grover Washington Jr., and “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers. And of course, they couldn’t call themselves a brass band without playing the beloved spiritual hymn “When the Saints Go Marching In.” e strong, powerful notes of brass instruments and the beautiful harmo-

In true New Orleans fashion, each band member was called out to do a solo, each one emoting a di erent feeling.

As the music continued and the sun began to set, the crowd let the good times roll as more children and adults came to the front of the stage, dancing as if it were Mardi Gras.

Just when the sun went behind the buildings, the Brothers of Brass were kind enough to strap on their instruments for an encore, playing “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child.