A September Sunday outing

 

On sunday, Sept. 23rd, 2001, I went out to see how the fall colors were coming. The sumac was turning wonderfully scarlet, there were tiny mushrooms and lichen growing on the bark of old trees, and the goldenrod was in full bloom. It was also cold, wet and impending storms were dampening spirits as well as the sky.

I was able to find some Queen Anne’s Lace in the ditch next to the trail I was on. The flowers had not faded and dried yet, which meant the root was still very edible. Being in a ditch, there was water collecting from the misting rains from the day. I generally do not go for that kind of water, but I had forgotten to bring my water bottle. Slightly chewy, but satisfying. You can find water other places, too.

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A hollow Log! This fallen tree has been here for years. The hole has dry punk wood in it that I could have used to start a fire, if I had needed one. I knocked on it to make sure that no one was living in it. Such places are also good for stashing things when you are going away from camp, if you are weary of neighbor campers. Do not do this with food as animals don’t care if it is ‘hidden’.

I found an area that had a grouping of puff balls. All of them had gone to spore, but I have made a note on my map of the area for next August/September. One nice thing about puffballs is that they will grow for years in the same area, but you have about a 5 day window for harvesting them, at least in my area. After that, if you find a puffball that has gone to spore(the inside isn’t white and firm), leave it there. You can help to spread them by breaking up the mushroom and tossing it into the underbrush around where you found the original one. The next year, look under the bushes and see if they took.

On the way home, I passed a Hummer(tm) that was up for sale by owner. At $38,000.00, down from $47,000.00, it is till out of my price range, though it did remind me that I really want a Jeep(another tm). My minivan is great, but the things it can’t do sometimes are painfully evident in the field. I had been looking at a Jeep, but it was sold quickly after it came into the used car lot.

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