Summer's Over
Rain Sets In
Sun Sep 12
It is around this time of year I would put my (unscented) dog poo bags to good use foraging for mushrooms on Salisbury Plain. I had one spot where I was able to find a good number of a member of the Agaricus family. I did get them checked by an expert to be sure I knew that what I was picking was safe to eat, but can't recall the name. It was a type of field or horse mushroom. Occasionally I'd find a puffball. Even better!
The mushroom season has started in BC and I've already spotted some Chanterelle and about a dozen other types which I don't recognize.
We have a local chap in Gibsons who trades under the name of Shaggy Jack (aka Jody), who runs foraging courses, so I have booked onto an October course for a five-hour tutored forage.
I've decided it's no longer safe to stick with the 'perpendicular test' when foraging for mushrooms. The one where if I'm still vertical the next morning they must be safe to eat! Many of the local mushrooms don't look like the familiar field or horse mushroom, so better safe than sorry!
Saturday morning breakfast was Marmite on homemade sourdough. Truly excellent. We will need to stock up!
After the first dose of Marmite in nearly six months, I headed off to Sechelt to collect the workshop kit I'd bought. The owner, a Brit who's been here 40 years, is moving house and winding down his workshop. We heaved it in to his pick-up and he kindly brought it down and helped with the unload.
Band and bench saws, pillar drill and a few assorted oddments now installed in the garage - aka workshop.
I managed to break the band saw lifting it by the plate, so two new brackets ordered. Thank goodness they are still available. It was only $25 and he knocked $25 off the total price so I am still ahead!
The next week will be spent servicing the kit and making sure it's all working as I want it and safely.
The last few days has brought cloudier skies and showers. The distant mountains have appeared briefly and then hid behind the murk. Saturday it rained nearly all day after a bright start and thinking it would be drier in the forest I headed up to Elphinstone to walk Jack in the afternoon. Someone else was watching a tennis match - Go Canada - (I like to hedge my bets!).
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| Early Saturday before the rain set in |
Even in the depth of the forest the trails were wet and running with water. We headed down to the bottom of Langdale Creek, expecting to find more water than we did. Perhaps it takes a few days for the run off to get in to the creeks. I guess we'll find out in the coming days and weeks. It definitely feels as though the Summer is easing into Fall
Early evening and we settled down to watch the USA V Canada rugby game in front of the log fire, gas sadly, but at least it doesn't need to be cleaned out!
Canada needed to win to automatically qualify for the next World Cup. They lost 36 - 16, so now need to beat Chile and the loser of the next USA game to get through. It wasn't a great game of rugby. Bring on the premiership, which we have found a way to watch. We gave up half way through and watched a Bond movie instead.
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| Morning mist |
Sunday morning started grey and overcast and the view of distant mountains morning had disappeared. It had cleared by lunchtime - what a difference.
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| Lunchtime |
Fred took Jack down to Hopkins Landing on Sunday morning and got talking to a local who lives on the beachfront. He'd spotted three otters which he knew were making a mess on his boat and were now on the diving float/pontoon, then on the way back Fred saw the three of them swimming to shore and scampering up the beach to the sanctuary of a small creek that runs in to the beach, catching two of them on her camera. Blink and you'll miss them!
With another tennis match on today I'm scheduled for the afternoon walk again!
We have quite a few Acers around the house which are starting to turn and will bring a colourful autumn. A tall Aspen on the front corner of the garden by contrast shows no sign of autumn's arrival.
This afternoon I headed up to the lower inclines of Mt Elphinstone - the large summit behind the house - just over 1000m elevation - it's why I stuck to the lower slopes! We'll leave Nick and Lizzie to run up to it!
I've decided Jack sometimes gives me the 'willies' when out walking. This afternoon he stopped several times and adopted his gun-dog alert "there's something ahead" pose.
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| Burnt out tree path |
The sale of Eastcourt House seems to be progressing. The solicitors are doing their thing; dealing with queries and questions, drafting the contract etc. etc. We are aiming to complete early November -🤞.
November - yikes, solicitors do like to spin it out! Maybe Jack is missing pheasant/partridge or bunnies - ho ho
ReplyDeleteNot the solicitors, it's driven by the date the people staying there are due to depart. I suspect he's not forgotten what to do with pheasants and partridges, given his enthusiasm for chasing ducks on the water who can fly quicker than he can swim!
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