Thursday, September 19, 2013

my oh my, mushrooms

A walk through the woods revealed something that I've been waiting and waiting for...
mushroom season.
With the dry weather we missed out on some of my favorite edibles - lobsters, chanterelles, black trumpets - but after a bit of rain it was really encouraging to see this:

That's a sulphur shelf mushroom aka a Chicken Mushroom growing on an oak stump.  I've harvested Chickens off of this stump before, most recently this spring, and never before has it given me two fruitings in a year.  I'm feeling pretty special.

These guys grow really quickly so I'll have to check them daily to be sure I get them when they're still young and tender.  Trust me, it's a task I don't mind doing.

Sharing space on the same dead oak were these little shelf mushrooms which I believe are mustard-yellow polypores.  The yellow and white edge caught my eye as they reminded me of the dyer's polypore in miniature.  When I pulled one off the stump I noticed the pretty ochre interior and thought I'd better see if it would give dye.


I picked a few, tore them into pieces, and put them in a jar of water with a splash of ammonia and bam! color.  I'll let it sit a few days before I try to dye with it but I'm excited at the possibility.

There were some other little lovelies popping up to say hello from the leaf litter.




But most special of all were these amazing specimens that flew all the way from B.C. to be with me.  


Aren't they gorgeous?  Handmade by the immensely talented Kristy of fog and swell.  If you don't already know, in addition to being a talented maker, Kristy also captures some spectacular images of her wild surroundings.  You can find her blog HERE.

The stitching on the gills is just fantastic.


They make me so happy.

Hope you all have a happy day too.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

How wonderful! I love Kristy's work and her blog has always been inspiring to me. I'm not surprised that you got her mushrooms. I've got my eye on some West Coast sea creatures from her.

Heather M.
(Also in BC)

lfk911 said...

Beautiful! I love the mushroom pics.

beth said...

how fabulous! i am always amazed by the fungi/mushrooms when we walk the woods... and fog and swell? adore her work and photography.

k said...

Yay mushrooms! Last year was a little bit of a bust here as it was so dry, but this year we seem to have had just the right combo of warm sunny days with good soakings in between to create awesome fruitings everywhere, edibles and not-so-edibles (all are interesting to me!). Am looking forward to it continuing for the next couple months.

Margie Oomen said...

in love with mushrooms real and handmade

NanaBeast said...

I, too, am a Fog and Swell fan. I live only 350 away from Kristy and her high-maintenance Ty puppy! I am so inspired by her work. She was the one to make me consider old jeans for my stuffed animal making. I love your appreciation for fine gill work!

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