More Mushroom Hunting. With Cheryl and Ethan.

Lots of Summer Mushrooms.

A basket full of goodies and baddies.   What fun it is to explore the great outdoors.   Unless you encounter bugs, poison ivy, stinging nettle, and a host of other FUN things.   But let us begin with my favorite subject,   Finding Poisonous Mushrooms!

Cute Field Bolete.

Ok,  I was not actually targetting the toxic varieties.   They just happened to pop up in places where we were looking for edible ones.    And since they are so facinating and fun to Identify,   Why not mix them all up in one basket and figure out what you have found after you get home?

Some get over 2 inches. 

Luckily,  I have a few known mushrooms on my mind and can separate them by visually iding them myself.   The "odd ball" ones get put on a plate and wait for a spare print and identifying keys.

Boletes that are past their prime.

Our first find, was a field Bolete.   We found possibly dozens of them, but many were past their prime.  They tend to turn white after they have expired.   I'm assuming that another slime mold begins to break them down.  Besides the white ones, there were many others that were "kinda gross" that we passed up.  It was not a problem,  there were plenty enough in the basket.  And wouldn't you know it, I discovered several in our own yard along with almost a dozen large and fresh ones in our neighbors yard.  So there is no shortage.

Old White Crowned Coral Mushrooms.

Some growing on the forest floor.

The White Crowned  Coral mushroom was also past its prime.  I tossed it in the basket anyway to show Cheryl.

Small Puffball. 

Brain Shelf Mushrooms.  Amada?

We found brain mushrooms, Puffballs, Corals,  and Angel Oysters ( white colored oyster mushrooms)  It was very exciting. 

Near some Oak under the leaves.

Chanterelle!   Yummy! 

But perhaps the best find was the Chanterelles!    I have discovered them growing in our yard, but this was the firs time I found them out in the wild.  I guess they grown all summer long and people find tons of them when looking for other mushrooms.  They are a Choice Edible.

Cheryl was not ready for hills 

I found several.

Cheryl was not as equiped as I when it came to hunting off the path.   The wood nettle was pretty harsh.  I stung my arm several times reaching for a bolete.   Cheryl,  wearing shorts,   felt the full furry on her bare legs.

I'm having too much fun. 

Or the Wood Nettle she discovered.

This put her in a rather sour mood.    Quite the contrast from me, as I was having a ball!

Unknown Bolete.

Looks "over-ripe" in middle.

When we finally arrived home,  Cheryl found one Bolete that was not a field bolete.   I could not Identify it, but decided to to take a chance on it anyway, since it appeared to be past its prime.   My guess is that it was either a "Bitter Bolete" or a "Graceful Bolete".  Both are edible, but one, ( can you guess which one?) will not taste very good....  and ruin anything you cook it with.   Having a refridge filled with numerous other mushrooms,  there is no reason to take a risk.  Maybe next time.

Cluster of Small Browns

Might have been edible.

We also dicovered several potentially toxic mushrooms.   Deadly Galerina and these small brown ones.   The small brown ones that are growing in a cluster have the potential to be edible...  Had I noticed what kind of log they had been growing on.   Turns out,  Pine logs equal good mushrooms.  Desiduous logs equal bad ones.   Not knowing what kind of log, but taking into account that most of the trees are broad leaf trees,   we decided not to take a chance with them.  Besides,  small brown mushooms growing on logs is usually a bad thing.

Most "small browns on logs"  are bad. 

Cheryl cooked up the last of the yellow Oyster mushrroms for my upcoming lunches.   Rice, peas and mushrooms with her secret "Maple Soy Terriaki Fire" sauce.   I can't wait for tomorrow's lunch time.

Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler temps.   Cheryl ran 15 miles today with no complaints.   Quite an accomplishment.  She has been trying to up the miles for a while now, but the heat of July always gets in the way. Let's hope that the rest of the summer remains cool.    Thanks for stopping in.

Misadventures With Ethan, Cheryl, and Silver Bullet Subie.

Silver Bullet Lets us Know things...

 Sometimes it is difficult to get up in the morning.  I can relate.   I understand when things just want a little more time to rest up.   And so it went with Subie today.   I turned the key to start him up.....  The lights were on and the starter clicked.   But no cranking. 

Like when he wants a Break.

We have been experiencing this at an increasing rate lately.   Sometimes he pauses a half second.  Sometimes he pauses for several seconds before cranking over.  Each time we have been able to get him started and he runs fine for several days or even weeks.   But the intervals between "episodes" have been shrinking and we both came to the same conclusion today.  Time to look a little closer.

By not starting...

Our first diagnosis was that the key we were given for him was worn and not making a connection somehow.   Our reasoning was based on that same key's inability to open the trunk!   Andy ( Cheryl's Brother) mailed us a new key from the Subaru Dealership and the starting issue went away.   We thought we had fixed it.

Time to get a new one. 

After a little digging and trouble shooting,  we figured there was a high probability that the Starter, after 267,000 miles,  was telling us that he was about to expire.   Subies always give you warnings before something "bad" happens.   It is really up to the driver to listen to the car.   And with the Silver Bullet getting up there,  I listen intently for any sniggle....

Starter under here... somewhere. 

Starters are easy to replace! Even I can do this!   I have replaced one in my Jeep...in the snow... in the dark!   And we replaced a Starter in Cheryl's old Grand Am.  ( with a little Help from Andy.) How difficult can it be for a Subaru?    Couple of plugs,  couple of bolts.    Easy Peasy!

Hot to Safely jack up and work under a car.

Pretty much.    I looked over the manual and the last step required me to prop the car up on Jacks and crawl under it for the last remaining bolt.   It should have been easy,   even with the rather challenging angle to loosen the bolt.    But crawling under a car in the heat and gravel was rather uncomfortable.  Add in the scare I got when the car rolled forward!    WAKE UP!

And how NOT to do it...

Old starter out!

I stepped back,  Set the Parking Brake, Chocked the wheels,  set it up on the stands,   added a cinder blog under the tire.    And STILL it was scary climbing under the car at that time.   And that last bolt was not very easy.   But I managed with a little help from Cheryl.  (Basically,  I called her out so she could hear my screams if the car fell on me!)

New Starter ready! 

I got a little dirty in the process. 

Putting it back in took even less time.   And Subie started right up.... So despite my best efforts,  I managed to fix it.  I hope.

Frying up Mushrooms! 

New starter installed! 

Afterwards,   Cheryl and I cooked up several of our Mushrooms we found yesterday.   I will have to post that one later.  We found quite a variety of edibles.   And a few that were not, but still fun to identify.

Showing off my basket of goodies. 

Several Angel Oyster Locations. 

Deadly Galerina. 

  I was very excited to find another location for Angel Oyster ( white oyster) Mushrooms.  Along with the Deadly Galerina!   An extremely toxic little brown mushrooms.  (Not going to eat this one to find out if it is true....  no matter how much  Cheryl dares me.)

Final Day for RAGBRAI.  And The BIX in Davenport. 

One last note:   With Subie throwing a small hiccup in our plans, we arrived late in Iowa City and most, if not ALL of the RAGBRAI people were gone.   A few stragglers... or perhaps locals on the trails,  were the only cyclists we noted. ( aside from ourselves.) Today is the scheduled end of the Iowa Crossing.   They were to finish at Davenport; where the BIX was run today.

Riders gone,  Trails are OURS alone!  

 Cheryl was torn on how much she wanted to go, but ultimately there is no medal, no beer, and the snacks and after party are limited to runners only ( no spectators allowed!)   so, without me to join her,  she would obviously not have a good time.   Better to save our money form a real race later in the Fall. 

Enjoy the weather!  And thanks for stopping in.

RAGBRAI comes to Wellman! I See Bike People...Everywhere!

The RAGBRAI  has invaded our small humble town in the "Middle of Nowhere", Iowa.   Quite a transformation.   Normal sleepy towns turn into hubs of vendors and community.   All from a yearly tradition of Cyclists riding across the state.   How cool is that?

Stop over in Wellman

After being here 8 years,  I finally considered doing the event this year.   I knew it would be a logistical and physical strain, but there was a fleeting moment of aspiration.  But,  as the future would have it, we had to work today.   Even if I had wanted to jump in for the last two days, earning money would end up taking priority.  That always seems to be the case.

Police Direct Traffic.

But Cheryl and I qualified early today, and were able to get out of jail, I mean working earlier than expected.  The final destination for the riders is Iowa City, so there was a possibility to catch a few riders as they passed through our sleepy town. 

Vendors and Parks people assist.

I heard that there were 50 vendors there in the down town area.  Pretty cool watching Wellman come alive.   This usually only happens on the 4th of July... or near the baseball fields. I headed downtown to feel  the energy.

Sheriff enjoys a Kalona Ice Cream Bar.

American Flag shows How Iowa Feels.

Most of the spark was gone, however, as the vendors were closing up shop around 3 P.M.  A few cyclists continued to pass through, and there were still a bunch there enjoying the treats and water.   I figured when the beer tent finally closed, there would be very little reason to stay.   The majority of the cyclists must have already pressed on towards Kalona by this time.

Water to help you cool off. 

Beer tent closing.   Booo.

There are always stranglers.... and  Vanguards.   On our way to Iowa City this morning, we already noticed several dozen cyclists within the city limits!   They must be a full day ahead of everyone else.  I guess being at the spear's tip is rewarding in its own way, but I think I would prefer the safety of the pack and the police escort that comes with it.  Riding on those open roads in Iowa with trucks and late commuters seems dangerous.

Still a lot of folks hanging out. 

Still,  seeing Iowa from the Saddle of a Bike sounds like fun.   And anyone can do the thing.... even if they only choose to join up for a couple of days.  We saw many cyclists traveling to Wellman to possibly join the group as they headed towards the Mississippi.   Probably because they had to work this week and were finally able to take Friday off.  There will be other opportunities to do it later.

As for now,  Cheryl and I are planning to jump ahead of the cyclists and run in Muscatine tomorrow.  I heard there are on their way there after they wake up from Iowa City.   Their final destination will be Davenport.  Good luck to them.   I'll continue to ride the 15 miles alongside Cheryl.   Riding 20+ miles a day  tends to wreck your backside.  I can only imagine riding twice that every day for an entire week!   Definitely something that requires some training.    Thanks for stopping in and Check out the Video.

More Running, More Mushrooms!

Revisiting Kewash Trail.

8 miles in the sun.

With today being our last day of freedom/ vacation,   we are trying to squeeze as much "fun" as we can from the remaining hours.   What better way than to run around outside and forage for edible goodies!   Sounds fun to me!  Eh?

With a little Shade.

Small Field Boletes! 

We split the last couple of days between trails.   Cheryl had to work yesterday, so we decided to run near Westchester on the Kewash Trail. 

Cheryl is excited.

Let's add them to the group.

While reacquainting ourselves with the "bi-polar" ( meaning good times AND bad!)  trail,  we had the opportunity to find a few stray Field Boletes along the path.  What a great addition to our growing collection. 

Chop Chop!  

Sizzle sizzle!

I fried them up with some Yellow Oysters and Green Onions.   And then folded them into a small omelette.     My only regret is that I forgot to pick one of the ripe cherry tomatoes to add to the mix.   Yummy!   ( Cheese would have been good too, but not necessary.)

Let's Eat! 

Back to TrueBlood Trail.

Today,  we headed back to the Trueblood Trail so Cheryl could get in a longer run.   It started out cool enough, but the sun came out and heated things up fast!   Cheryl still managed cap off a 10 mile run before calling it.  She was pretty happy with the results.  She wanted to do the full 15, but decided against it as she has been doing high miles pretty much all week!   And the sun and heat were slightly higher. 

10 miles complete!  Let's go a Huntin'!

More Boletes!

Taking into account that she BROKE herself last year at this same time...  Better to play it safe and have a year that remains injury free.  ( Besides,  I couldn't run 10 miles... At ALL!   Running 10 miles seems heroic to me.)

Field Boletes.

While in Coralville,  we were able to catch up on some last minute errands.   I changed the Oil in Subie and we dropped off the used stuff at the dump.   Cheryl bought our lunch and cat supplies for tomorrow and Friday.  And a quick stop at Hobby Lobby for some Hobby supplies. 

More Oyster Mushrooms!  

With the remaining time,  we headed back into the woods to see if we could find those elusive summer Boletes.  No luck at the Usual spot, but we did find a few more field Bolites to add to our growing collection.   Cheryl suggested we check out the "Boy Scout Camp"  on the Rotary Club Park hill. 

These are fresher!

We visited this place before,  back in early summer.   I remember the White Summer Oyster Mushrooms coming out there,  but they were rather old and tough.   This time, however,  things were different!

 Another Log of White Oyster Mushrooms.

Cheryl directed me to the old log, and revealed that several new logs had sprouted mushrooms.   I had my pick on which ones were the freshest this time!   I did not gather too many, as the fridge is still filled with LOTS of the Golden Oyster Mushrooms at the moment.   Still, I was curious of how they tasted and if the younger/fresher ones would be better tasting and easier to eat.

Coral Mushroom!

Crown tipped Coral Mushroom? 

While searching around, we also found a coral mushroom!   Just when I thought that all Coral Mushrooms were safe to eat, easily identified, and Basically a true edible FIND..  Someone has to come and scare the crap out of me saying that the False Coral Jelly Mushroom is out there and looks just like the one I have.  Well,   A couple of questions:  IS IT POISONOUS?   or just a look-a-like that is not very tasty?   Kind of important.

Mixed Basket of Goodies.

Found more Field Boletes in the yard.

Well, there was only one small one, so I may have to pass on the experimental tasting and do a little more research.    In the mean time,  Cheryl and I cooked up and sampled the white oyster mushrooms ( young and tender ones) and found them to be quite tender and delicious.

  We also deep fried some of the field Boletes... Not bad, but probably no the best way to eat them.  ( They turn to liquid almost. With a crispy  outer shell,  Still tasty though!)   And finally,  the Yellows and some Store bought Maitake mushrooms.   Cheryl thought they were ok, but still thinks the Yellow Oysters are the best.   I tend to agree.   Between taste and texture, the Yellows have it. 

But there are so many more mushrooms out there, waiting to be sampled.   Perhaps those Bun Boletes will show up soon and we will have another chance to explore the uncharted world of the Summer Mushroom.   Thanks for stopping in.