Have you been doing your rain dance?  If not, get those feet a movin’.  It’s been dry, dry, dry, and the mushrooms need some moisture if we’re ever going to get the opportunity to admire them.

Regardless, we’re adapting to all sorts of adversity this year by offering more online content that we hope you can appreciate. Namely The Colorado Mycological Society Online Mycology Exposition is right around the corner. This event was recently featured in the Colorado Times Reporter.  Our lineup of speakers will include Dr. Cathy Cripps from Montana State University and Dr. Michael Beug from Evergreen State College in Washington. The Expo will also feature presentations on the culinary joys of wild mushrooms as well as a “tech-off” where our friends from Fresh From the Farm Fungi and Mushroom Cult will square-off in a battle of mushroom culturing techniques. I have to say that I’m as curious as you are to see what these folks have in store. Check out the EVENT PAGE for details the Expo and information on how to join August 23rd starting at 11am through Zoom or Facebook Live.

Despite the dryness in the mountains, we’re still working on offering forays.  Many of the exiting forays are already booked, but continue checking out our EVENTS for any new forays that might come up. We will pray for rain and hope to offer as many as we can before the year’s out.

The 2020 CMS Photo Contest is now live.  If you have any images of stellar fungi that you’ve taken this year, go ahead and put them up on the website.  Submissions for the contest will be accepted through August. In September, the competition will open up for people to vote on their favorite mushroom image.

The CMS Store is now open for business. The offerings are currently limited to Mushrooms of the Rocky Mountain Region and The Essential Guide to Rocky Mountain Mushrooms by Habitat, as well as a guide to Colorado trees and wildflowers. Soon we’ll have this year’s assortment of T-shirts so be sure to check out the store to get your orders in.

So much is going on in the world and we sincerely hope that the CMS has been able to offer some respite, even if it’s limited. Mycology is growing in our region and we will continue to strive to be your primary connection to this wonderful and exciting world.

If your limited connection has you craving for more, then consider volunteering. We are coming up on the end of the year and are looking for more faces to offer support and leadership in our society as we grow. If you are interested, send and email to society@cmsweb.org and put “Volunteer” in the subject line. We’re looking for people with technical experience for helping add online content and support through the website. If you have other skills in writing or simply mycology topics that you’d like to blog about, let us know and we’ll discuss getting your ideas posted on this site.

Beyond this, stay safe, stay well, and wishing you fun in fungi,

Andy Wilson
2020 CMS President