The Autumn Mushroom Season Is Upon Us. Corals, Stinkhorns and Blewits!

Yellow Jelly-like mushroom?

Cooler Weather Brings out Fall Mushrooms.

After our little race yesterday,  Cheryl and I snuck out for some "Forest Time" here in Iowa.   Finding forest time in Iowa is challenging.   First of all,  there are no trees!  ( Not entirely true, but certainly no like back in Michigan.)   Most woodlots are small, difficult to find, difficult to access, and usually are privately owned.    However,  every now and then we find a spot that offers a few of the things we are looking for.

Basket of Goodies. Note: Orange Lobster

Peace, quiet, trails, and opportunities to find Mushrooms!  The place we chose was the same one we explored with Julie and Mike when they visited.   It turned out to be such a gold mine of species!   And with the Fall weather finally appearing, we thought we might find a few new additions that our books talk about.

Purple Coral Mushroom.

I forgot my Camera, of all things!   But Cheryl had hers and we snapped a few photos.   As usual,  I threw everything in the basket.   We found a lovely Lobster Mushroom right off the bat. ( No picture, but it is orange!)

Golden Spindle Coral (Golden Fairy Club)

Like Deep Sea Diving!  Colorful!

We discovered a whole spectrum of Coral Mushrooms!   Purples, Oranges, Yellows and Whites.   I'm prety sure most of them were edible.  In fact, I have sampled the White crowned coral before.  The say that they are "peppery" and should not be eaten in large quantities because, similar to eating too many chilli pepers, they will upset your tummy.  Unless you are used to those types of things.   I have seen videos of people eating entire bowls of them, so take it for what it is worth.

Yellow Tipped Coral.

If we had wanted to, we could have filled our baskets to brimming with those alone.  But instead, we sought out variety.

Kinda small in our yard.

Cheryl watches the Stinkhorn Grow.

The whole thing got kicked off a couple of days ago when the stinkhorn in our yard finally peeked out.   I have been waiting for this mushroom for a while, because I know what one of them is the awesome and beautiful Veiled Sinkhorn!

Waiting for the Veiled one to appear.

Just a Common Stinkhorn.

This one looks like the common stinkhorn though.   Today, I saw that some flies had finally discovered the spores and were picking them up.   It is a smelly thing, that smells strongly of mushrooms.  You can smell it from several feet away!

Dog Stinkhorn smells like watermelon.

Cheryl and I discovered another round of the Dog Stinkhorn.   Colorful, and after picking it for a closer look, we also noted that the smell closely resembles mushrooms mixed with watermelon!

And then we discovered this one. 

Large Emerging Stinghorn.

Will this one drop a veil?

It was along our bike/run spot, so we did not have time to return and see if it would open up even more.  But this was the first time I actually have seen one emerging from the egg.   The gelatinous goo was still on the top!   I had hoped that this one might drop the veil, but we had 17 miles to run and could not come back to see what would happen next.   I certainly was the largest one we have seen to date.

Blewits vs Purple Corts.

Our latest Collection. Spore ID area.

With our basket of mushrooms home,  I placed them on the mats for spore prints. ( and closer inspection) I thought there was a chance that we had finally found some Blewits.   The Purple and Yellow Corts seemed to be mostly done.  Both Corts have a rusty brown spore print while the Blewits have a light pink-ish spore print.

Does this look pink-ish to you?

This is a Blewit. ( we think.) 

I believe we discovered severl of these wih Julie and Mike as well, but I was working and did not give them the time they required for a Possitive ID.

Yellow Cort.  Rusty Brown Spore Print.

I should also mention the Humble Russelas that we found, but that will probably require its own post.  There is jus so much to talk about with that one.

Hummer in Action.

Well, Thanks for stopping in.   The Hummingbird is busy trying to drink up the last of Summer before heading back south.   He is very noisy outside our Open Window.   I'm just happy to see him active in this chilly weather.   Between the flowers of the Cardinal Creeper and the full feeders, he shoudl have plenty of fuel for the trip.    Thanks for stopping in.

Cheryl's Kickoff for Kinnick 5K.

Off to the Races!

Early and Cold.

 Greetings from the Wilds of Wellman, Iowa.   (Hopefully)   Once again testing to see if the Internet works.   So far it has been a lovely mix of surprise and disappointment.  Cheryl is in awe while I remain skeptical.  She was able to score from home AND print. ( The printer never worked very well even with the Old system!)  So things are looking good for the "must haves".   Now all we have to do is figure out a way to post blog pictures AND not have the window open all winter long for the best possible signal.

Cheryl at the Gate. Or IN he gate.

Lining up at the start.

But on to the "good Stuff".   Cheryl ran a fast 5K into the Hawkeye stadium.   (It has a name,  I can't remember it off hand.)  Not being a fan of the Hawkeyes,  I figured this might be the one and only opportunity to see the inside from the field.  Call it a morbid curiosity.  So she signed up for this early, chilly race to fill in for the usual short training run.

Thankfully, it was not as early as the Quad-Cities Marathon.  And it was over so quickly.    How quick....  let me show you the two highlights!
Start time!

Cheryl races past at the Start. (In Real Time.)

Finish time!

Cheryl races past at the finish! ( In Real Time.) 

Super Slow Mo start

Super Slow Mo finish.

Feeling the "Hawkeye" 

Now it is my turn...

See?   Wasn't that fun!  We hung around the stadium for a few moments trying to "capture the essence" of being a Hawkeye. I think we got down.

Cheryl in the middle.

Rubberized "Dirt".

Unique astro turf.

I should mention the astro-turf was pretty cool and unique.   It was the typical outdoor carpeting with small bits of ground-up rubber.   It had a very unique spongy feel to it.   Different from he Various colleges I have been to.   Or the Silverdome!   (Remember the Silverdome?   In Pontiac Michigan.... Ah, those were such great times...)

Cheryl wears it properly.

Belt Buckle Medal

Also,  The medal Cheryl received was a Belt Buckle.   She told me that I looked like one and I said it was probably a gimmick two for one deal.  She decided to wear it the correct fashion way.




We headed out to the "after-party" at the Big Grove Brewery.   I know what you are thinking:   Free Beer?  In the Morning?  After a 5K?  Yes!  But we did not stick around for all of that.   (I know,  that IS a surprise.)  I had not had any breakfast, was not desiring beer, and Cheryl has sworn off any Alcohol for Training Purposes.    The Big Grove Brewery and Tap Room looked pretty cool.

Big Grove Tap Room.

Menu.... Not just for Adults!

  They had lots of things to do there that were not entirely "adult"   for instance:  Foosball tables, Air hockey,  Throw toss, and many others.   The Menu had "Milk and Cookies" as an Item.   From what I can gather:  Tap Rooms are not really bars.  Or rather,  Micro Brewing is trying it's best to make the traditional Bar more family Friendly.   There were lots of families with kids there.  (I'm sure the kids were not there to get tanked!)

Fun and Games.

For "Warm" and cozy conversations.

 The outdoor environment was pretty cool as well.  We pass by this place all the time on Cheryl's usual training runs.  There were fire pits and comfortable lounge areas. Too bad we did not stick around.

Cheryl on the BIG SCREEN.

Cheryl places second in her age group.   No award.   No fanfare.   Just the pleasant knowledge that there is some one out there who is faster than she is. 



The rest of the day was spent doing boring junk:   Farmers market, woodland walk,  mushroom hunting and foraging.  Thankfully the rain held off until just a few moments ago.  The Temps are not going to climb much past 50 degrees and we are staying inside enjoying warm foods and beverages.

That is all for now.   I'll now spend the rest of the evening seeing if I can post this with the pictures.    Thanks for stopping in.

Fixing the Trek, Internet, Garden, And Everything Else In Life....

Internet from Home?   Or Anywhere!

Greetings from HOME!   That is correct!   We finally have the internet!   But before we celebrate too much, (Because EVERYONE wants to read my clever blog posts.) There are a few catches that limit the fun and good times.   (There is no happiness in America,  on the Pursuit of Happiness...)

Cheryl says," Fix Your Bike!"

Cheryl bought a Hot Spot on her phone.  It was (And still May Be) a gamble since our reception out here in the sticks of Iowa is sketchy at best.   She was forced to purchase a new phone and set things up while I worked, alone, at Pearson.  Bu now we can take the Internet with us wherever we want...  And, if things work out, we will be paying LESS than we were with MediaCom the Evil Corporate Monopoly that was Trying to Break Into Our Small Aparment And Mess With Our Service Until We Upgraded!!  I felt like it was being married to the MOB!   Only without the weddings and baseball bats.

Let's get to work.

With our connection re-established, but limited,   I now felt confident to tackle a few of the problems that have been impossible to address while we were working.  One of those tasks was getting my bike fixed.

Wrong Bearing size.

I'll spare the details of the past.    Let's just say that the bearing assembly in the handlebars was broken.  And with bearings missing,  I felt like I was riding on a sheet of Ice whenever I would ride along with Cheryl. No very fun. 

Where do we get Single ball Bearings?

How about trying Steel Shot?

I head to the bike shop and they are USELESS!  Meaning, they sell me the wrong bearing and do not have the actual one I need.  So... I have to get Creative in my sollutions.   Because Cheryl has to run long this weekend and she has threatened me with physical violence if I am not there with fuel and hydration.

Disassemble Bike.

Removing Extension.

We ordered some bearings from Amazon.   3 MM and... (Drum Roll..) they were too small.   I check them out and figure a BB would have worked better.  And "DING!"   A moment of inspiration hits me.  I'm ashamed to say it had taken that long, but my mind has been fried since the Pearson gig.  Sometimes creativity is hurt when you have to score 400 papers a day.

See my "earlier atempt"?

Let's get those bad bearings out of there.

By the way, finding single bearings ANYWHERE you would normally think to find them is impossible.   Hardware, automotive, Even BIKE SHOPS!  Do not have the bearings as single units.  So off to the Outdoor Sporting goods to find 4 MM BB's from Shot gun reloads.

Gerry Rigged version didn' work very well.

Add new Grease

  As it was, these bearings came in steel,  where somewhere between 4-5 MM and fit perfectly.   I disassembled the bike and loaded up the bearings  with some bike grease to hold them in place.  I took it out for a spin and everything works.  Perhaps later, I will find the actual part to go in there, but for now,  I will give it a test tomorrow and see how things handle.  If it is good enough,  I will leave things as they are.

Add in bearings one at a time.

All done! 

Assemble!   Let's check it out.

In other news,  the garden has run its course and I think we have harvested the last of the tomatoes.  The rain really did a number on the ones that were remaining.  Most of them split and got fruit flies in them.  I was getting kinda sick of tomatoes anyway, so it all worked out.  I will leave the rest for the Bugs.   Including this really awesome Spider that I discovered this afternoon.    Yellow and white stripes with a black base and striped legs. He/She is only about 2-2.5 inches from tip to tip.  Not the largest spider I have seen, but certainly the most colorful  one for a while.   We also have had White-lined Sphinx Moths visiting our cardinal creeper.   As well as the Hummingbirds. 

Spiders have taken over the garden.

She shows up better with paper behind. 

As the weather is getting cooler, I'm sure the Hummers will be heading south soon.   And while I have a break in the heat, I want to work on a few of the little things on Subie.   I have not been able to change the oil in a while.   Almost 1500 miles past due!   ( I hate how jobs steal your time...) And then there are the brakes.   It has been almost three years since I replaced the shoes.   With all the driving we do on Subie, I'm sure they are at their limit.  So tomorrow will be the first time in a long time that I will be able to get back under the hood.   I hope I will be successful in all my endeavors.

Very colorful!   And scary! 

So that is all for now.  Cheryl wants to Upgrade my phone and get a signal Booster so that we can actually use the internet without having to camp out in the middle of the yard.  Apparently,  the signal does not like coming through the window unless we are right on it and the window is open.   Hooray for Rural Life! 

Pirated signal from a Bagel shop. 

So now you can look forward to many more posings from me.  I have so many pictures that were not able to make it in posts over the past two weeks.  It seems so long.   But fingers crossed that things work out.   Thanks for stopping in .

UPDATE!   Low signal forced me to post this from Breugers Bagels.   Seems Cheryl's hotspot did not like downloading my pictures.   We will have to get those signal booster soon!