Foraging....aka Hunting Slow Prey

I've been collecting herbs and wild edibles for years now, but the one wild edible I have always sort of feared is the mushroom.  My grandfather was an avid mushroom collector and knew all the varieties that grew in his area....however he died before I was ever able to learn this skill from him.

I decided to take the step and I have spent the last few months studying mushrooms.  It has been a challenge to learn, but by reading, consulting experts, studying and foraging, my studies are finally paying off.  

A few days of warm weather followed by a rainy day is the mushroom happy place....so I went foraging one afternoon.  This little cluster of Ringless Honey mushrooms is growing right behind my milking barn.  These would be edible when properly cooked, but they are growing on an old pallet.  Since I don't know whether or not the wood was treated, I'm just watching them grow and won't harvest any of these.

This cluster was growing on an old oak stump in the back yard....and they are the perfect stage for harvesting...

In these next 3 pictures you can see Honeys' that are past their prime.  This variety of mushroom is often infested with bugs or maggots at this stage....not good eats....

I have not identified any of these next mushrooms, but it gives you an idea of the varieties you can find when you look closely....

And much to my surprise, our Coral Mushrooms had regrown.....allowing me to take a second harvest!  This time I didn't dry them....cooler weather moved in and I decided to make a big pot of soup with these.

Once washed and trimmed, my able assistant and I sautee'd them up with some onions and garlic....

                      

Then put them in a big pot with some chopped roasted chicken, covered with chicken stock, some herbs....and let them cook all day long.

Along with some roasted garlic crustinis this was a fabulous Autumn soup!!

God's blessings are everywhere when you have ears to hear and eyes to see!

The Dresser

After building the new waterbed, it became obvious that we were in need of a matching dresser.  

My mom's church has a huge garage sale every year, and this year I had some money put back and had my list.  A solid wood dresser was on that list.  The Lord says to ask and it shall be given (Matt 7:7-11).  The dresser was there at the sale, and the price was right at $25!

The color and finish was not what we wanted but it was solid wood, well made, and in good condition.

Once we got it home, the real work began.  I wanted to completely refinish it, and change out all the hardware.  My goal was to give it a bit of a 2-tone color and keep the natural distressing that it's acquired over the years.  To do that I sanded the layers of factory clearcoat and stain....but left a hint of the old finish....

The dresser body plus 9 drawers, a center door, and 2 mirrors....

I started with a heavy grit sandpaper....

Then sanded enough to smooth the wood a bit.  This center door was a real challenge....

As were the mirrors.  Here's a little comparison of before and after...

Once all the pieces were sanded, I began staining.  I wanted to match the finish I had done on the waterbed.  The one on the left has a layer of stain, the one on the right is sanded and ready...

It didn't take long to start to see it all coming together....

I think I matched the finish of the bed pretty well!

We still have to get new drawer pulls and mount the mirrors and center door...

And now to make a headboard and night stands!

The Doe Port!

Although we are still shopping for property and planning to move, we continue to build, maintain, and repair things here.  One of our big build projects this year is building a barn for our does before winter sets in. 

We had a very small barn for the does, but the herd has outgrown it.  We also have a small kidding barn that we use for does....but they have outgrown it as well. As breeding season began, we needed the old doe barn for a rowdy junior buck, "Spirit"; leaving the buck barn loafing area the only place for the does to get out of weather.  Needless to say, it was a bit of insanity out there.

We need a doe barn before winter, and we have to do it without going into debt...so we made a plan. 

Since the drought we have lost a total of 10 trees.  We have been cutting them down here and there depending on time.  The last tree that lost branches managed to nearly destroy the pig pen.  Since it was obviously in need of rebuilding, we chose that as the spot for the new doe barn.  It also happens to be the most level spot in the yard.

 First we tied off the dead tree to prevent it from falling on the house....

Then we removed the fencing from the pig pen...

Then we cut down the tree, cleaned up the mess, and bought a carport.  Yep, a carport....$695 of instant roof 18' X 21'. ... and some pavers...because even as level as this spot looks....it's not near level!

We put up a temporary fence across the yard so that the installers wouldn't be molested by a herd of goats and their 3 livestock dogs....

The men were here by 8:30am and within just a few minutes they were unloading the truck....

Laying the bottom rails...

The uprights and rafters took just a few more minutes:

and then the roof was on!

 

Just a bit of trim and it was finished...

So now we have an 18' X 21' "doeport" fully installed.  Our plan is to build an 8x10 office in that far corner, and 2 permenant stalls on the right side.  Then on the left side we will be able to put up portable stalls during kidding season.

There's a bit of ground work to do first, and of course we need to save up a bit of money in order to get the office finished....but I think we've got a good start....and at least the does have a place to escape the rain!

Edible Mushrooms

I have been studying mushroom identification for a few months now.  While I haven't yet even become an amateur mycologist as of yet, my studies have opened my eyes to the many forms of mushrooms growing in this area.  I have found edibles in my foraging, but they were too old to harvest....and never found any edibles on our own property.  I did have an amazing find over the weekend!

Meet Hericium coralloides aka the Coral Hedgehog Mushroom.

It is not only edible, it is also medicinal! 

It's also kind of neat to look at.  It's easy to see how it got its' name for sure!

 And we harvested it on our own property!

It takes a lot of work to clean them....

 And once cleaned, I put them into the food dryer to prepare them for long term storage...

Not that they'll be around long....soup and stew season is coming up!

It's Any Day!

Remember the other day when I said we had a new grandbaby due any day?  

Well, any day came yesterday, October 14, 2014!!

8# 10 oz of sugar and spice and every thing nice!!

Zack isn't too sure about his new baby sister yet....but Mama and baby are well.

It sure is nice to add a little bit of pink to our full quiver!