We spent much of October outside basking in the amber light of fall. We did things around the yard. Bob harvested ginger and turmeric and put our Troutsfarm sign back up. Camille went for walks in a post-hurricane rain mushroom wonderland and discovered a crazy plant that feeds on mushrooms! This is the time of year when you feel like a kid who doesn’t want to come inside for dinner. We were surprised to get anything done indoors at all!
A WALK WITH JUDY
Nothing makes Camille happier than a good walk with a friend. Judy joined her on a sunny day after Hurricane Matthew dumped seven inches, and the woods were vibrantly green and popping with mushrooms. They walked up to this old shack for a look around and down to Stinking Creek. By the time they returned, they had solved most of the world’s problems.
TURTLES AND GHOSTS
One good walk deserves another. The next day Camille went searching for the Ghost Plant with Haruka, Jason, and Doug. Jason spied a turtle with a damaged shell that he believed he’d seen before. When we found Monotropa uniflora, Haruka stared at it in wonder. Although it looks like a mushroom, it is really a flower that feeds on mycelium. See: Art in the Woods for photos from both days.
GINGER AND TURMERIC
Bob’s been harvesting ginger and turmeric, and planting garlic, another good excuse to spend hours outdoors. These immune-boosting roots ripen at exactly the right time, just before flu and cold season. We use them in stir fry, soups, stews, and tea.
REHANGING THE TROUTS FARM SIGN
Handy Bob installed our Trout’s Farm sign in a prominent, new location. It used to live on the dilapidated picket fence surrounding the fish pond garden, but rather than paint that old fence, we tore it out.
Our good friend Mahlon made this sign for us twenty years ago after we bought a little horse farm in Virginia. When we sold the house Bob took down the sign and bought the domain TroutsFarm.com so we’d have a virtual home, somewhere our friends could find us and stop in for a visit. This was before Facebook and smart phones, mind you. Thirteen years later we stopped traveling long enough to buy this house. Now we have two Trouts Farms, troutsfarm.com, and the little yellow house on the Moncure Pittsboro Road.
SEASON CREEP
It seems late in the season for figs, and certainly untimely for a new flush of azaleas. We blame global warming.
NEVER MISSED A BEAT
The hydrangeas have been blooming continuously since early Spring.
JORDAN LAKE DAM
There’s a hint of fall color at Jordan Lake. Another refreshing walk with Haruka!
THE SECRET SHOE
Amazingly, this shoe sat on our counter for weeks before someone noticed it. Read the whole story here: The Invisible Shoe
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THIS MONTH’S QUOTES:
“An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it makes a better soup.” – H.L. Mencken, A Book of Burlesques
“I am not saying nobody should use Ghost Pipe as medicine. I am saying it should be used only when no other medicine will do, by people with enough knowledge to know that no other medicine will do, who have also cultivated a deep relationship with the plant.” – Sean Donahue, Green Man Ramblings
“Politics is the entertainment division of the military industrial complex.” – Frank Zappa
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