On The Hunt

Byron told us one of his long-time
neighbours augments his livelihood
by hunting up fungi in the forest.
Byron is an avid gardener, among
his many talents and interests, but
mycology mystifies him. There's a
ready market in high-end restaurants
for locally foraged mushrooms he tells
us and the prices his friend can command
equally mystifies him. We commiserate
for though his friend speaks reassuringly
of easily become adept at recognizing
which among the fungi are edible and
which poisonous, Byron has his
personal doubts despite the allure of
supplementing his own income and his
curiosity both about growing things and
marketplace values. We, on the other
hand are left somewhat bemused by
the very thought that high-end eating
establishments even exist in this
bucolic backwater and the possibility
of dining discernment among its residents.