The Pigstye

My woods are full of Berkeley’s Polypore mushrooms.  I havn’t tried any of them yet but I did get some pictures of a large one.  Update – I gathered some young Berkeley;s Polyphore mushrooms.  They are quite tasty, but are rather tough.  I made an omlet with chopped up mushroom, it had much the same texture as sausage and much better for you.

 

I ran across this beautiful mushroom in my recent trek through the woods. It was majestic, standing almost 9 inches tall. Beautiful to look at but not to eat.

It has been very moist and warm around here lately and yesterday I decided to go mushroom hunting in the woods. I was hoping to find some chantrels but I was rewarded with several other finds; the best of which, was this Sulphur Shelf Mushroom (Laetiporus sulphureus).

Right now it is soaking in brine, but I plan on having some of it cooked tonight.

About a month ago I set out some bird feeders. After a few days the suet all disappeared one day after not much activity. After looking at things I decided it was probably squirrels.

A few days ago, we looked out of the house and say a female red fox eating stuff on the ground under the bird feeder. I wondered at the time if that was what had gotten the suet.

Well I was wrong it was a small coon and I have the pictures to prove it.

 

Today, while walking through the woods, I heard a faint peck, peck. After going up the hill a ways I spotted a Pileated Woodpecker on some fallen trees pecking away. He was buried in the brush and I could not get a good picture, but you can make him out through the brush. After he left I went and tried to find what he was eating but I only found the hole. Note, after posting this I found where the woodpeckers had pecked holes in the styrofoam covering our basement. This is stucco covering styrofoam over concrete block -- not very tasty.

At least twice a week I see white tailed deer around my office. I have never been quick enough to snap a picture, so I got the next best thing. I snapped a couple of pictures of deer scat to prove what I am saying. (You could say I am faster than scat, but slower than deer).

Today I went out in the woods and sat and listened to the leaves fall. I can hear you say "Listened to the leaves fall, are you nuts?" It was actually a nice experience, sort of like letting snow fall around you. There was an occasional light breeze whic h made the leaves come in waves. Here are a couple of pictures of the woods in front of my office.

I found a bolete mushroom, I think a Boletus edulis or King Bolete. Here are a couple of pictures. Note I went back to harvest it and some woodland creature beat me to it. :(

Eastern Box Turtles are fairly common on my property. We have to watch when we mow the grass. They were one of the first creat ures we encountered when we purchased the property. They are protected in our state and you can't remove them from the wild. Here are some pictures from one I encountered yesterday.

Our mushroom for today is a Sheep's head mushroom also know as hen-of-the-woods mushroom, ram's head mushroom, and japanese kumotake mushroom (dancing mushroom). It's scientific name is "Grifola frondosa". The mushroom is edible and has a nice, earthy flavor. It is reputed to have numerous health benefits: It is used as a food to help promote wellness and vitality. It is also said to be used in prevention and treatment of cancer, and as a supportive tool for HIV infection.