January and February mark the annual Crab Feeds as Fundraisers season. Scattered around the North State, most use the Shasta District Fairground. Ranging from small community events, like benefiting the Cottonwood Community Library, to all-out shows like One Safe Place (nee Shasta Women’s Refuge) and various Service Organizations, these raise the sense of supporting local groups; the money raised stays here! So grab your bibs and fav Crab Cracker and chow down. Oh, and a hint: Anderson Rotary has the best Chowder; they contribute it to other fundraisers!

And typing of Crabs (segue here); did you hear the one about a crab walking into a bar? Yep, didn’t get served; barkeep refused cuz it couldn’t walk straight. Now imagine this leading to crabs that live in mangroves, how mangroves look like they have legs, and plants that walk. True dat, plants walking, er, moving.

Beyond Tolkien’s imaginative Ents, there are plants that literally move, seeking a better location. “Nomadic vines” never grow in length, but send thin stems with small leaves to move quickly, and when sun is found, develop thicker and larger to stay there, but leave their trailing parts to wither and die. I have “read” that certain fig trees can “walk” on their stilt roots to escape from a tree that has fallen on them. But Googling has revealed nothing.

Until next month, keep your pen to the paper or your fingers on the keyboard; more importantly, don’t stay rooted in one place.