Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Heirlooms of High Summer


Seeds were given by an acquaintance to my Grandpa to then to me. An unknown heirloom tomato.
It may be a local heirloom, kept for generations but it is similar to Brandywine or Millionaire
They are mammoth in size (this is nothing near the biggest I've seen), irregular in shape, and slightly pink.
The best tasting tomato I've had!

Awaiting my Gem Glass Corn and mighty excited about it.
Although they are beautiful, these decorative corns are edible just as you'd eat sweet corn,
and it can be dried and popped for popcorn too.
I'll have to try it all ways!
Purple Stalk of Painted Mountain Corn

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Fall from the Vine

Volunteer pumpkin vines unfurling in the fog.

Monday, August 15, 2016

Mushroom Monday

Periodic rain & heat has the forest alive with fungi, especially large and colorful mushrooms pepper the forest floor.

This purple hued mushroom was a treat. I think it may be a Silvery-Violet Cort but I'm not sure.

Gem Studded Puffball with guest


Edibles - Smooth Chanterelles & Indigo Milky Mushrooms

Boletes

Bolete


Monday, August 8, 2016

Mushroom Monday: Faerie Rings


It is always a genuine thrill to find a ring of mushrooms in the forest. Though they are purported to be portals to the Faerie Realm, through which one might enter, never to return, or to return years later, I always risk it, usually to record the marvelous phenomenon with my trusty camera. The faeries had, however, set their poison ivy snares all around this ring. There is much folklore about faerie rings, differing from country to country and changing throughout time. This article HERE is great at exploring all of these myths & legends. One of the more common beliefs about the rings is that they are a place where faeries dance in the round, holding festivities. It's also believed that it is best not to disturb these rings. Oddly enough, the ring in my woods, beneath a towering cedar tree, arose on the evening of August 1st, which happens to be the Celtic Festival Day of Lughnasadh (or Lunasa). Lunasa marks the beginning of harvest, halfway between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox, and a time for celebrating the Earth and it's magnificent ways. Perhaps there were faeries celebrating the coming of Autumn. I'm sure ready for it.