ahedderick

[ahedderick]

One more addendum; the fungus. We did a triple-confirm the edibility of this (one of my mother's old reference books and two online sites). Sparassis crispa and Sparassa spathulata are kinda similar, both edible and found in our area, and our specimen is probably spathulata. The original one we found was much smaller than this, and still young enough to be edible. This second one that K found when she went back up in the woods was a bit older and drier, and we're hoping that it will dry completely to be a specimen we can keep. So pretty! Coral behavior!

The smaller one we tested by sauteeing a single bite for each of us in the evening (it was good!) and then slicing and frying it for breakfast the next day.

And that was - not good! Somehow overnight it changed texture (drier and too firm) and lost flavor. So. Hmm. It was an interesting experiment with mixed results.

K was very excited to learn a New Thing, though. She has found chanterelles, chicken-of-the-woods, and now cauliflower fungus this summer, and is very enthusiastic about it all.

A good, nutritious start to the day.

On the Trail

It's not exactly cool out, but it's a good bit cooler than it was during the heat wave. K and I decided to go do riding-trail maintenance this morning after barn chores. Poor girl is taking care of all the chores at Home Farm, too, while the boys are away.

We spent about an hour and a half marching around the trails on the mountain removing dead branches, thorny vines, and the occasional small dead tree. They always fall onto the trail when they die, I swear. There are still some things there that were far too big for us to move, but it's an improvement. I really wish I could find a Guy to hire for chainsaw work. I have tried that in the past, but without success.

The dogs enjoyed it, and are now very flat in the living room. Dreaming of squirrels, I suppose. My old cat followed us the whole way, complaining loudly. I had to carry him for a while; he was So heavy and So warm. We spotted many beautiful mushrooms and one very old glass bottle, unbroken. I have plenty of other things I need to do today . . but time for a bit of rest just now.

[ahedderick]

Aside from the serene beauty of the gif, the phrase "periodic solutions to the three-body problem" just fills my heart with joy.

20 examples of periodic solutions to the three-body problem

[ahedderick]

A final (maybe) follow-up. Vaccinium stamineum is a good match for the site (Coastal Maryland), leaf shape, growth habit (medium-size shrub), and berry size/shape color.

HOWEVER. All the images I found online show the berries growing singly from the branches of the shrub. As below. The specimen I found had berries growing in a cluster (raceme?) similar to very widely-spaced grapes.

This photo in my original post shows this, the berries are on a cluster with a thin stem; the whole raceme could be broken off the branch in one piece like a bunch of grapes. That is one small difference amid a whole lot of similarities, but it troubles me. I'd welcome commentary from anyone who knows more about this.

Botany Bay

When we were down at the Chesapeake bay over the weekend, K and I saw a shrub with hanging groups of almost grape-like berries.

The shrub was growing at the edge of a forest, it was tall and the branches were widely spaced (ie the opposite of compact).

The berries were dangling in a loosely-spaced bunch. The ripe ones were dark blue/purple like a dark grape. The berries are spherical and have a small 'crown' like a blueberry. They do not stay attached when ripe; they fall off the plant (we saw several on the ground).

The leaves are the most basic elliptical shape, which makes plant id harder. They don't shrivel up when dry; they stay green and a bit waxy-looking.

I did some looking around for an id, but haven't been able to pin it down. I was able to eliminate oregon grape, because it has holly-like leaves. Indian hawthorn seems like a possibility, if it had escaped from someone's garden, but Indian hawthorn also seems to have winter-persistent berries (ie they stay on the plant when ripe) and a much more compact growth habit.

Well, if anybody has a clue, let me know.

[ahedderick]

Wood, glass, and Metal

When we swung by Seneca Rocks, we went into an 1800s-era home that has been preserved as a museum. It had many of the tools/kitchenware/garden implements that would have been used at the time sitting around. There was a wooden chicken crate in the corner that was a duplicate of the one my mother used when I was a kid. I've been in quite a few historic/museum homes from that time and I always feel like I want to move right in. I know what most of the tools are and how to use them, everything feels very familiar and good. I don't know quite why that is.

I mean, I grew up with electricity. I've never had to live without it for any length of time, but I do know how, and I don't particularly enjoy hauling buckets of water or cooking over a woodfire. I don't know why a pre-electric home feels so enticing to me. Maybe just because my parents had very old farming tools still in daily use, and there is a sense of familiarity there. Wood, glass, metal, no plastic whatsoever. Maybe that's it; not the lack of electricity, but the lack of plastic.

[ahedderick]

Today I will ?

Ooobph. I feel as if I was just dredged up from the bottom of a particularly mucky lake. I have officially had Too Many Fun Activity.

Yesterday, while my cousin was visiting, we had a look at the electrical system (derogatory) at Home Farm. He identified two places for us to prioritize for fixing. Interestingly, in addition to being a professional piano tuner and fixer, he is also certified in residential electric. Fortunately, his hair is already mostly white. When he saw what was going on with the wiring of the stove, it would have turned his hair white if time and genetics had not already done so.

Later, we went to a semi-public spot on the Potomac to noodle around in the water. That was lovely. Someone had put a swing in a large sycamore that overhangs the water. The river, which is Very Lorg downstate where it meets that bay, is literally wadeable here; no more than waist deep in this particular wide, rocky area. You can enter the river from Maryland and exit in a West Virginia cow pasture!

There was a frisky current, many interesting crayfish, and tons of small blue dragonflies that kept lighting on us to rest. I don't think I've ever had a dragonfly just - land on me and sit still. Granted, we were sitting still to spy on the crayfish and johnny darters, but, still. It felt like an honor somehow. August things 🥰

[ahedderick]

While I was cleaning house at Home Farm yesterday (it smelled unfortunately like two young men and their 47 pet boots live there) I opened several windows to get some fresh air. Some had screens, some did not. When I was midway through some challenging scrubbing I went into the laundry room for more cleaning supplies and surprised - a frantic hummingbird. I opened the door to the porch, so he could escape that way if I failed to catch him in the window. Then I slowly stalked up to him, as he buzzed around the window like a large bug, and nabbed him just so neatly and gently in my hand.

I had to pause a moment to savor . . there is a humming bird in my hand! . . then I went out on the porch and gave him a toss. He buzzed rapidly away and Nellie, a dog with extremely strong opinions about fetching thrown toys, lost her ever-loving mind. She saw me toss, saw something leave my hand, and exploded into action. I don't know how far she ran hoping that hummy would come back down, but - it was probably good for her.

I finished the scrubbing, K arrived to give me a ride home, and that's when I found the wren in the front bedroom. A 'two nickels' kind of day. Angry wren was also deftly nabbed and released. I closed all windows that didn't have screens. That was enough wildlife for one day.

My cousin, who has very good childhood memories of that house, enjoyed his stay last night. I was glad it no longer smelled of boots.

Too much

K's birthday celebration, followed by a fun but tiring day-trip to the bay, followed by a fun but tiring three-day visit from my aunt, followed by a three-day trip to Snowshoe WV . . has been a lot. These were all good things, but. The summer is flying by, my garden is appalling, and I'm not able to balance the work-to-be-done with the fun things that are - necessary in a different way. This evening I'm getting another (very welcome) guest*, and tomorrow we'll be looking at the electric issues at Home Farm and doing some fun river-swimming. Need a dinner plan. Need to clean house and weed the strawberry bed. aaaaugh.

'* a cousin who came after my father passed away and spent TEN HOURS disassembling the big grand piano that was lurking in his living room. Without his expertise and efforts, we would have been unable to move that behemoth at all.

[ahedderick]

Nap buddies.

[ahedderick]

Unexpected! There are middens in the woods from the early 20th century (did you know rural areas did not have trash collection until mid-to-late 1900s?) This wasn't anywhere near the sites where I've found other glassware, though.

It says "FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS SALE OR RE-USE OF THIS BOTTLE." I find that puzzling. Also, it doesn't say what was in it, just the brand name Old Quaker. The screw top still works. A little research seems to indicate that Old Quaker was a brand of whiskey, and the wording at the top was added after Prohibition. Hmm.

The unusual mushroom was Sparassis crispa, otherwise known as cauliflower fungus.

On the Trail

It's not exactly cool out, but it's a good bit cooler than it was during the heat wave. K and I decided to go do riding-trail maintenance this morning after barn chores. Poor girl is taking care of all the chores at Home Farm, too, while the boys are away.

We spent about an hour and a half marching around the trails on the mountain removing dead branches, thorny vines, and the occasional small dead tree. They always fall onto the trail when they die, I swear. There are still some things there that were far too big for us to move, but it's an improvement. I really wish I could find a Guy to hire for chainsaw work. I have tried that in the past, but without success.

The dogs enjoyed it, and are now very flat in the living room. Dreaming of squirrels, I suppose. My old cat followed us the whole way, complaining loudly. I had to carry him for a while; he was So heavy and So warm. We spotted many beautiful mushrooms and one very old glass bottle, unbroken. I have plenty of other things I need to do today . . but time for a bit of rest just now.

[ahedderick]

On the Trail

It's not exactly cool out, but it's a good bit cooler than it was during the heat wave. K and I decided to go do riding-trail maintenance this morning after barn chores. Poor girl is taking care of all the chores at Home Farm, too, while the boys are away.

We spent about an hour and a half marching around the trails on the mountain removing dead branches, thorny vines, and the occasional small dead tree. They always fall onto the trail when they die, I swear. There are still some things there that were far too big for us to move, but it's an improvement. I really wish I could find a Guy to hire for chainsaw work. I have tried that in the past, but without success.

The dogs enjoyed it, and are now very flat in the living room. Dreaming of squirrels, I suppose. My old cat followed us the whole way, complaining loudly. I had to carry him for a while; he was So heavy and So warm. We spotted many beautiful mushrooms and one very old glass bottle, unbroken. I have plenty of other things I need to do today . . but time for a bit of rest just now.

[ahedderick]

Too much

K's birthday celebration, followed by a fun but tiring day-trip to the bay, followed by a fun but tiring three-day visit from my aunt, followed by a three-day trip to Snowshoe WV . . has been a lot. These were all good things, but. The summer is flying by, my garden is appalling, and I'm not able to balance the work-to-be-done with the fun things that are - necessary in a different way. This evening I'm getting another (very welcome) guest*, and tomorrow we'll be looking at the electric issues at Home Farm and doing some fun river-swimming. Need a dinner plan. Need to clean house and weed the strawberry bed. aaaaugh.

'* a cousin who came after my father passed away and spent TEN HOURS disassembling the big grand piano that was lurking in his living room. Without his expertise and efforts, we would have been unable to move that behemoth at all.

[ahedderick]

[ahedderick]

Art scams

Pondering; why do all the current art scammers insist that I "DM" them? I've gotten dozens of messages in the format of "love your artwork/do you take commissions/DM me." Sometimes I even get these notes on posts where I am discussing art, but did not attach any images. Like, there is NO PICTURE and folks roll up saying "Love your art plz DM me."

It's easy to avoid, but aggravating. I don't know why DM is so integral to their scam, but. whatever.

[ahedderick]

Peachy

Yesterday I had to process the peaches that we picked, underripe, last week. Many of them rotted instead of ripening, a difficulty that I could deal with by spraying fungicide on the peaches all summer long from the time the trees first flower in spring - but I just can't do that. I had some good luck with the prior batch with dousing them in a vinegar solution after picking them, so I will make that my standard from now on.

Peach butter: 2 c peach puree to 1 c sugar, cinnamon or spice mix to taste.

I had a little more than 1 quart/liter of peach puree, added 2 c sugar, and cooked it down until it was 'gloopy' and spreadable. I got the cinnamon/nutmeg/clove mix j-u-s-t right. It is so sticky and good.

The other peaches went into a crisp. I didn't peel them, just cut any bad spots out. The crisp layer was 50/50 oats and flour, a bit of sugar, and melted butter. I was really on a roll.

Garden-wise - not so good.

Four pepper plants, a row of Blue Lake bush beans, eleven tomato bushes, three cuke vines, a bed of carrots I planted in May, and a random volunteer squash vine. And this? THIS is my harvest?!

My tomato plants should hang their heads in shame. Tsk. We had pork roast and stir-fry veggies last night for dinner.

[ahedderick]

Wyoming Roaming

Son called this afternoon, the first time I'd heard from him since he and Roommate headed west last Thursday. They got from Maryland to Wyoming in about 30 hours (yikes), and climbed Laramie Peak yesterday. Apparently you can see 100 miles/160km from the top; it is over 10,000 ft/ 3050m at the peak. He sounded happy, tired, and ready for the next adventure. I'm supportive on the outside and worried on the inside. They won't be back until around 8/21, although part of that time will be spent at a family wedding for Roommate.

Worry worry worry . . . .

[ahedderick]

Dogs

Hmm, I almost forgot about 'Dogust.' I have a little triptych called Generations of Love. We always have dogs of staggered ages, so the older can teach the younger farm things. Whiskey and Lucy, Lucy and Chance, Chance and Lady.

Lucy and Chance looked so good together. I painted them once with a border that I *hoped* looked like leaves carved in wood. They had such a good time every year when the cool, fall days arrived.

Lady has perfect pine-needle-camouflage

[ahedderick]

Eeep! that sounds so neat!

My first day of volunteering at our gem museum is over. What fun it was.

It’s in an old jailhouse built in 1850, so that in itself is worth being a museum. But add the 5,000 gem stones, fossils, and Native American pottery and tools, and it’s a fascinating place.

I knew next to nothing about gems before today, and I know just a little about quartz now, but hopefully one day I’ll know about most of the objects in here.

I have a key and alarm code now, and a checklist of everything to turn on or unlock upon opening, and everything to turn off and lock at closing.

Super nice visitors, too.

[ahedderick]

Unfortunately, my camera can't begin to capture the speed and fury of the Rosalie & Possum Gladiatorial Games. However, just know that these two were putting out maximum effort in biting, pouncing, ear-pinning, glaring, and worrying.

Rocky, without thumbs, cannot condemn or spare the loser. He can watch judgmentally, though.