What a difference a day makes

Yesterday we had sunshine most of the day - Still no frost, so everything is green. 

However, it's been raining for days and days and we have little lakes everywhere.  I've put my greenhouse on hold until we have more favorable conditions for building.....and

and, my building partner isn't going to be much help for the next 6 weeks.  He slipped and fell on Thursday and broke every bone in his ankle. 

Yesterday I found one nice big Chantrelle mushroom that I added to the homemade beef vegetable soup.  Even though it was sunny, it really wasn't warm, so soup sounded good.

And today we woke up to this!

Fortunately, it's still 35 degrees outside, so it's only sticking to the grassy areas (so far).

I think we're getting a message that we need to slow down!

Fall Mushroom Identification

All through my childhood we hunted wild mushrooms.  So I became familiar with several tasty varieties - Morel, Shaggy Mane, Oyster, Coral, and Chantrelle - but I know many more are edible - like Boletes - but I never have figured out how to positively identify them.  This year, there are mushrooms popping up everywhere - most of which I have never eaten.  So here are some pictures from my walk this morning.  Any help with ID is appreciated!

Well, I have to say this one looks poisonous.

Boletus?

??

It would be nice if this one was edible - we have a full field of them!

Coral - most coral mushrooms are edible and choice.  I've seen them the size of a large cabbage, so I'm letting these grow to see if they grow into something that's worthy of picking.

Amanita?  If so, very poison!

These are huge, abundant, and very much favored by local animals, so they must be edible.

Chanterelle - My absolute favorite!  Easily identified and safe once you know them.  Available at the Public Market for $19.95 per pound!

Home Again

It's been a long time since we experienced fall in Washington State, and we are discovering what we've been missing!

The lawn is growing and everything around the house is emerald green!

The falling leaves cover all the trails with a soft carpet.

The fallen leaves come in a beautiful array of yellow, gold, red, magenta and brown.

Even when the sun isn't shining, the yellow Maple leaves give the illusion of sunshine.

Mushrooms everywhere,

Some, like these Chantrelles, wonderfully edible!