A Great Day For Ethan And Cheryl.

I think Great is fitting.  Better than good.... but leave a little room for "Spectacular"...  or "Once in a Lifetime!"   Nope...  Just "Great" is good enough.

So what made it so "Great"?    Certainly not the hot humid weather.   Nor the tough 10 mile run Cheryl forced herself to "grind out".   It was all the little things that happen when you are not planning on them. 

For instance:   A lovely sun rise!   Normally the sun is either absent (which is ok)  or blinding us in our face!   I am not fond of driving with the sun in my eyes.   So a nice glowing red ball is a pleasant surprise.   Along with a few wisps of fog and a cool-ish  humid morning.  Not a bad way to start your day.


The heat picked up, however, and Cheryl was forced to reconsider her running plans.   10 miles is still heroic in this heat.

Woodear Fungus 

Pheasant back/Dryad Saddle. 

Afterwards,  a little pop and breakfast and we decided to head to the woods for some outdoor time.  And while walking through the woods, why not bring the mushroom basket to see what we mgith find.

Cheryl sees MORE!

Dryad Saddle.

A little background: yesterday,  and on and off this week, we have been searching fro mushrooms where ever we can tromp around in the brush.   Mostly we only find roting mushrooms, bugs or stinging nettle!   But today was differant!

Three days after our last rain, he fungi have finally poked their heads out!   I shoudl clarify:   We have finally been able to FIND these mushrooms.  Over the last several attempts, the mushrooms were past their prime and no longer edible.   But fortune smiled on us today.

Right away, Cheryl focused on the trees while I focused on the ground.   I found one small bolete but Cheryl found a MASSIVE cluster of Dryad Saddle!   The fog must have triggered some new growth since they were sof to the touch and still white-ish.   The coolest part was that they were dropping their spores while we were watching!   It looked like the mushrooms were smoldering in the sunlight.

Very Fresh!   Some still pinning.

Golden Oyster Mushrooms 

A few yards away from that, Cheryl located a new batch of Golden Oysters!  And they were Fresh! 
We took  a couple of clusters and left the rest to grow a little.   Those clusters were just beginning to "pin" and needed a little longer to gain in size.

Unknown pancake mushroom.

Cheryl was quite the "eagle eye" today since she located most of the edible mushrooms.   We even found a few that still need to be identified.  These brown ones, for example.   Smooth undersides, growing on a rotting log, rather tender and flat.   No idea what they could be.   Lacking gills or pores seriously should limit the search.   But they are not "shelf mushrooms" either.   I'll keep looking.

Chanterelle.  Kinda Old.

We found a small cluster of old Chanterelles....  but decided they were past their prime.  We have been missing the Chanterelles buy just a few days the entire week!   Very frusrating.

Lions Mane!  Or "Bear's Head Tooth." 

And finally!   The Bear's HEad Tooth mushroom.   Also known and Lions Mane!    This is the "brain" mushroom I have been very interrested in since I learned about it.  Cheryl has been buying me Coffee with Lion's Mane mushroom in it.   And FINALLY we have a sample of the real deal!  I can't wait to test it out.   There are NO poisonous look-a-likes.   And nothing else has those dangling icicles.  It is supposed to taste like lobster!

Cheryl shows off the goods

I tossed in some woodear as well, but with all these other delicasies,  I may just pass.   I DID finally sample the Dryad Saddle...  Not bad....

Dryad Saddle.  Not the best tasting mushroom.

Probably toss the old stuff.

Not very good either.   I had it plain, which usually is not very tasty unless it is a "choice edible"   But it smells like watermellon and tastes a little bit like the bitter rind of watermellon.  I may have overcooked it a touch.  ( because I also hear it tasts like crunchy french fries.)  But I doubt I will be eating that one any time again soon.   I have seen people pick entire baskets of the stuff, but maybe they have a better recipee.   ( Also, there were LOTS of bugs already in the thing.)   I don't mind a few bugs, but that thing was fresh and ALIVE!   I'll leave  it to the bugs... they probably enjoy it more anyway.

Lots of tomatoes.  Sandwich time!

Pretty colors.

And finally... Tomatoes!   We have been overly blessed with tomatoes.  This always happens if we have more than one or two plants.   I'm ok with playing Santa Clause in August.... giving out free tomatoes to Co-workers and neighbors.    The Cherry tomatoes are very sweet!  And the Heirloom greens are very meaty.    Great for sandwiches.   I wonder if I can mix up some of those mushroom with the tomatoes later for dinner.   We shall see.

Hope everyone else is having a "Great" day.  Finding new things and  getting lucky always makes my day seem a little brighter.   Happy to be able to pass it on. Thanks for stopping in