Friday, September 28, 2012

completely off topic

I know this has nothing to do with gardening, but if anyone would like a practically new Soloflex, I'd probably pay you to come take it out of my basement.  Ok.  I wouldn't really pay you, but you get the idea.

It's got all the parts (leg extension, butterfly, bench, weight straps) but who's kidding whom...it's getting no use at all and is taking up valuable real estate.

Post a comment if you're interested.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Sshh...Serious Foragers at Work!

Leda is writing a foraging field guide for Timber Press and she needed a few more images.  So she hopped the bus and we spent Friday tracking down

silverberries,


 black walnuts,


 and watercress, to name a few.


Then the fun really began.  Back to the kitchen where we created the Sassy Royale, an aperitif made from sparkling wine and sassafras twig syrup.


Thus fortified, we roasted potatoes, simmered a loin of goat in beet wine, then popped it into the oven under a blanket of yogurt and knotweed, and tossed the watercress with goat cheese and home-preserved lemons.


We were almost too full to enjoy the pear crisp with wild ginger, grated magnolia bud, and California bay nuts.  Almost.


Alas, Leda's presence was required in the city, so she missed the gigantic haul of honey mushrooms Mark and I found on Saturday.  But I have a feeling some of those may be headed her way...

 
(but a fraction of yesterday's fungal find)










Monday, September 17, 2012

Up high in the mountains, Where e'er I may roam...


Once upon a time there was a camp.

A woman (back then she was a girl) went to that camp and she loved it. She loved it so much that when she had girls she told them stories about it all the time. So they loved it too, before they ever saw it, and they wanted to go there when they were old enough. Which they did.


Many (MANY) years later, they all went together to visit the camp they loved, and found it much the same.

A lake with silky water, golden light, pitchy pines,

loons (both avian and human),


and memories.

The wild cranberries were gravy.


Monday, September 3, 2012

Autumn in Shohola

Motivated by Zoe's enviable harvest and Frank's prize-winning chicken, I took a few walks with sister Sarah. Some folks may dread the fall rains, but oh the bounty they bring.

A little too late for this chicken, but I've marked its spot for next year.


On the other hand, cinnabar chanterelles were abundant and crying out to be picked. How could anyone ignore this (totally unretouched) color?


Black trumpets,


Hedgehogs,


Fish milk-caps,


And because I forgot to post this, just a few weeks ago... all hail the King Bolete!


The possibilities are endless.