Murals, Mushrooms, and The Failings Of Two Men And A Truck.

But yet I continue to do them.  The design depends on what I can find on the internet and how much chalk of a certain color remains.  Tomorrow I may have to do something that is pink. ( Not a lot of pink things in nature....So  Probably Flamingos...)

 I try to chalk up at least one scene a day, lately.   And my anonymity has  become compromised.  People are talking...  Posting things on Facebook, (Other than me...) and commenting on the murals as they pass by.  I don't really want to become famous in our sleepy little town.  It's awkward. 

 The funny thing is I hate everything.   Even the stuff that is "not that bad"  I always see the flaws.  But... in the end.  the activity keeps me out of the Kitchen... most of the day. 

Today's Finds:  Small Puffballs. 

It has been several days now since our last rain event and Cheryl and I decided to give a search for some mushrooms.   The only thing I found was one smooth Chanterelle and a number of small puffballs.  The Puffballs are edible, and not bad tasting.  But with our pantry fully stocked,  we decided to leave them alone.  Besides, I'm not sure how well they would dry up.  Mostly I was looking for Chicken of the woods,  Miatake, and maybe some Smooth Chanterelles.  I would always welcome a Bolete if it appeared   But mostly, we just wanted to see if any thing was happening.  

Meadow Mushrooms. Note: Dk Brown, Gills.

I should also mention the neighbor gave me a nice little cluster of Meadow Mushrooms! (AGARICUS CAMPESTRIS) I have found these previously growing in our yard near the boundary to

theirs.  I knew what they were right away, but chose to key them out just to be 100% positive.  They are edible and tasted like Portabella mushrooms.   They are related to the Button and Portabella mushrooms, so it makes sense.   Little bit of trivia.  The only way to distinguish them apart for sure is with a microscope.  

 

Don't eat if they stain Yellow. Upset Tummy...

The spores on one ( I don't know which exactly) are longer.   And I think the spores are twinned up.   Not really sure how that works.    But hey!  They are edible.   Found in yards and meadows, away from trees.   The Horse Mushroom is a very close relative that is also edible.   In fact, the only one that is a look-a-like  and is bad ( will make you sick)  Stains a bright yellow when you bruise it. 

Destroying Angel.   White gills, long stem, 
volva sac at base of stem.  Deadly Toxins!

Ok,  one last thing before I let this topic go.   The Destroying Angel (Amanita bisporigera ) is the most dangerous look-a-like.   The are deadly, as the name implies. And are the ones that many people confuse with the Agaricus species.  But if you did even the most basic research, you will discover that Amanitas have WHITE GILLS!   And grow out of a volva sac.    Meadow Mushrooms have pink gills, turning to  DARK chocolate brown gills as they mature.   A HUGE difference.  Basically, before eating any gilled mushrooms, I think you should really take a few seasons to familiarize yourself...  not eat the first one you see. 

And lastly,  on our way back from Iowa City today,   we saw this. 

There are only two ways to Iowa City currently,  And Highway 1 is having their bridges reconstructed.   This leaves "The Back Way" through narrow roads and endless farmland.  These roads are not very forgiving to large vehicles.   So when a tractor or combine decide to get on these narrow stretches,  the fill up the entire section.   Meaning you will now be traveling all the way home at 20 miles per hour.  OR,  If you happen to get a GED graduate who is driving a Straight truck... and manages to get it stuck... across both lanes!  Then you either have to wait for a miracle,  or turn around and drive all the way back to Iowa city and zig zag around various other routes.  

How do I know the guy has a GED?  Because I was a MOVER for 2 years.  And those are the people that work there.  At least Allied required a CDL. ( Commercial Driver's License.) Two Men and A Truck only require a TIP. ( Temporary instruction permit.) How do I know?   Because I worked with movers from both companies.  

To be fair,  I do not know they guys here in Iowa. Maybe the rules are different.  And goodness knows that I have made similar blunders while driving that HUGE truck.  ( Let's not get into that right now...)  So I can empathize a bit. I'm sure either they were trying to turn around, or slipped off the road, thinking there was a shoulder there. ( there was not!)   Also,  they hooked up a Tie-down strap and thought it would work as a Tow strap.   I think even a heavy duty toe strap would not have pulled that thing out of the ditch.  Assuming it is empty:  26,000 lbs!  Add up to 9,000 extra lbs in furniture...  I didn't think that tie-down strap ( Not a Tow Strap) was ever going to work.   So... we had to backtrack all the way back to Iowa city.  Luckily,  there was a way that you could take, down highway 1  to Frytown.   It is a bit longer, but you could avoid the unfinished bridges AND the Moving Truck blockade. 

And my final Note,  BLOGGER has forced me to deal with their new format.  I HATE IT!   After an hour, I'm giving up trying to move or fix my photos.   I will have to relearn Everything tomorrow...   Irritation!