HAPPY
TRAILS
Around these parts,
fall is the perfect season for walking through the woods – the air is warm and
crisp, there’s no mud and few to no ticks and spiders.
November, 2010
ON THE
INSIDE, LOOKING OUTSIDE
It all starts in
our office as we sit at our desks on chilly mornings, sipping hot tea and
coffee, watching the
sun light up our front yard. The Bradford Pear and Willow Oak were
particularly showy this month. Spot is looking forward to the warmth of
the rising sun which has already touched the plumes of the pampas grass.
THIS CALLS
FOR A STROLL
By late afternoon
on November 11th, Camille was sufficiently caught up at her desk to go for a
short walk. She walked out the back gate into the woods and turned onto a
shared driveway that runs south and southwest back to the main drag.
BOUNTY
HUNTERS
On November 6th, Camille found two beautiful and tasty
Lion’s Mane mushrooms (also known as Hericium erinaceus, Bearded Tooth Mushroom,
Hedgehog Mushroom, Bearded Hedgehog Mushroom, pom pom mushroom, or Bearded Tooth
Fungus) on dead trees while walking in the woods. She was able to harvest
the first one, which was growing at eye level (and weighed over a pound!) but
needed help with the second one. Bob went next door and returned with
Jason and a ladder and they cut the choice ‘shroom down. In gratitude we
sent one home with Jason. Which he shared with Scott and Rachel.
When he showed the remaining Lion’s Mane to Haruka and her parents, they
realized they had seen one of these during their earlier walk in the
woods. So off they went, back into the woods and harvested a third enormous
mushroom! Now, that’s what we call a bountiful day!
ON A
MISSION
Before Jason and
Haruka left on holiday, we made a date to do some trail maintenance. There
was a particular trail which was confusing to us and we decided to give it a
little more definition. Armed with machetes and other implements of
destruction, we headed out.
LABOR OF
LOVE
As we crossed the
creek, Jason spied an opportunity in some large, flat rocks and stayed behind to
craft a beautiful bridge while the three of us continued on, clearing dead wood
from the trail ahead. It took him a long while and was obviously a labor
of love. It takes a visionary to build a bridge across a dry creek!
WARM
FUZZIES
On our way back,
Tigger welcomed us in hopes of giving and receiving some love. And Haruka
jumped right in, happy to oblige. A big thank you to our friends, Lyle and
Tami who generously share their pets and property with us. Most of the
woods in the pictures from this day were taken on their land.
MEN AT
WORK
Next we came
across young Zafer and Arlo, taking a break from a culvert clearing job while
their friend Giles was in the pipe.
HOLY
PIPELINE
All we could see
was a pair of sneakers. Zafer pointed the camera inside the culvert to
take this photo of Giles.
THE FRONT
FIVE
Beautiful in its
promise of future harvest, intimidating in its promise of years of hard work,
the front five is partially planted in asparagus and edamame, two of our
favorite crops.
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