Today's Happenings at the Homestead...More of too much to do.

Yesterday I wrote about how I have too much to do..and that I best get doing it. Well, today that rhythm continues! After all, tis' the harvest season an what better way to spend the week before Thanks Giving! Absolutely, am utterly thankful for all that God has given me today.

This morning, I woke to these. The honey mushrooms that I picked yesterday on my way home from the milk run. The forest I pick form is an old, old forest. The towering maples and fur trees cover the mossy undergrowth. It is such a beautiful place to be. Away from all homes, the sound is beautifully silent. Apart from a passing car once in a long while, I hear the dropping leaves. And that is it. Bliss. The shrooms had fulfilled their duty overnight. Each had dropped sufficient spores as to confirm their ID..all but just a few.

Cylas an I then went off to Dukeshire's. Our local apple orchard with all intent of picking 4 bushels. We were late. The u-pick closed on Sunday and all the apples have been picked. But we didn't leave empty handed...it was a blessing in disguise, as the apples were the same price as u-pick, minus the work. Plus, the grade had been sorted and we bought 3 boxes of #1 (at and extra $4.00 per box) and one box of C's to eat and process right away. The superior apples will find winter storage in my basement. 

After leaving the apple house, we had plenty of time to spare..so of course we took that precious time to visit the garden. We have a few plots in the community garden just blocks from our home. My carrots have been slow growers this season, and so we tended to thinning them out more and weeded them so as to help them out a bit. The carrots we left to continue growing will need to stay until frost sets..they need as much time as they can get! 

Pole Beans. This was the first year for the pole bean in our garden. These are wonderful! They take up little space, and so are perfect for our urban garden. Even after a few light frosts, they were still heavy with beans. Today though, we picked them clean and stripped the poles. Beans, you are done. 

At home, I sorted the eaters from the seeders. 

Along the driveway to the garden are some old maples...as I inspected them for fungi (Oyster season is near), I just about jumped out of my pants when I saw these! HUGE Oysters! How did these get past me? Anyhow, they are home. I cleaned, and cut them.

 Here is the Oysters..ready for drying. Total of 2 trays full.

The dehydrator full of mushrooms. 6 trays of Honey, 1 tray of Late Fall Oyster, and 2 trays of Oyster.

Another haul from the Garden..our Sunflowers. They drooped and sagged. They were well on their way to being completely dry, but I needed to start cleaning up the garden, so they came home too.

 Here they are..I prunes the leaves and stems off, and brushed off the pedals and nectar thingies. Sitting on my hall dresser they will make for a great decoration wile they continue drying.

Finally, but not lastly, the boys are topping the carrots AND enjoying the sun! 

Alas, it is only 3:30 here, and we still have work to do. Chow for now!

Armillaria Mellea & Perhaps Some Mushroom Fever!

Here we are, another mushroom post! I had gone to a mushroom workshop a few weeks ago that really helped secure my confidence in identifying fungi. I have, since, brought home many new edibles. The Honey Mushroom is one that was detailed at the workshop. While at our Church meeting this past Sunday, a friend of mine stated that she had some mushrooms growing out back of her garage. I had a look and immediately knew that it was vaguely familiar to me. I noted it's growing medium (obviously stemming from a log and trailing the underground root system, massive clumps growing together, sharing stalk bases) and took a sample home. Once home I recounted my notes, and referred to my handy field guide. Yes. Honey Mushroom. I then, just to be absolutely positive, looked online to compare. As I sifted through the identification info, it became immediately obvious that there were a few look a-likes that I would definitely NOT want to mistakenly throw into my basket. Although my field guide failed to point this out in detail, the only sure fire way to get an accurate id, would be to get a spore print. If it were white, it would confirm my suspicions. If it were brown-or brown like then it could be one of the poisonous look-alikes. I had only taken one sample, which by that time had shriveled to a state that would deem it un-sporable. Alas..boo. 

HOWEVER, yesterday I was out on my milk run and decided to take the long way home and detour though a thick dense hardwood forest. I peered from the car to the green carpet dotted with fresh fall leaves. Got out on a few occasions to browse. Scattered here and there I would find mushrooms..many that I was unfamiliar with. Back in the car, I continue to stalk the road side, driving at a turtles pace. STOP! I spied a colony. A huge mass of mushrooms. Quick!, I urged my 9 year old. Get those mushrooms! Haha! There, on the roadside, like a river flowing over the moss covered bank was hundreds of Honey Mushrooms! Obviously they had long ago devoured the stump and tree mass, and now had worked themselves over a grand area and were in full abundance! What a score. AND, I was running terribly short on time to return my car back to my husband. Gosh. Hurriedly, we picked as fast as we could and gathered our basket full, agreeing to leave behind what wouldn't fit for another day. 

Here is our spore print of our harvest.

Honey Indeed.