Spring mushrooms

A few weeks ago I got the urge to hunt morels.  People were posting pictures on Facebook left and right, raving about their delicious, meaty un-meat meals.  I wanted to find a morel.  A few friends wanted to go disc golfing at a local course a few days later, and one had seen morels on his last trip there. 

I was going to find a morel.

While they played, I tromped through the woods, determined to find some glorious mushrooms.  Let's be honest, I had no idea what I was doing.  (Something about looking for dead trees, I think?)  Needless to say, I wound up with mosquito bites, and no mushrooms. 

I joined back up with my group and shortly after, my friend Molly spotted a morel, in plain view, directly off a path near a fairway.  It was kind of like a scene from a movie where a beam of light lands on a treasure chest- just a mushroom popping out of the green in plain view of anyone who'd walk by. 

We investigated the area with our group of five and scrounged up over twenty mushrooms!  Behold:

We looked around through the rest of walk, but only found one more mushroom.  At the end of it all, we split the morels two ways (one of our friends already had a bunch at home that needed to be eaten) between two couples.  Mark and I cooked them up with butter and garlic.  OMG.  One of the best things I've ever eaten.  I get it.  I get the hunt (for vegetarians!), the scarcity... the free (delicious!) food!!  I think our morel season is over now, but I'm anxious to try again next year!

Summer 2012 in review

Well, now that tomorrow is my grand return to work and routine, I suppose my summer is over.  And that's okay!  I'm ready for the change.  So here's what I accomplished from mid-June through today:

I moved into Mark's house and we're gradually working to meld our styles and make it our home.  It's been so much fun, but hard work as well.  I love it, and I love living with Mark.  (P.S. Our four cats are adjusting well too!)

A big road trip to Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.  See our adventure:

Part 1: SD Badlands

Part 2: Boulder, CO

Part 3: Backpacking (the ascent)

Part 4: Backpacking (the campsite)

Part 5: Backpacking (the descent)

Part 6: Backpacking (the flowers)



Music festivals (River's Edge & Weekend at Harmony), camping, and a wedding.

We put in a craft room!  See our space and the organization we've done so far.

After a summer of applying and interviewing, I got a new job!

Biking.  My stamina definitely improved and we did some longer rides that I never would have contemplated trying in the past!

Plus crafts, cooking, dining out and so many other things I haven't had time to blog about yet!  I can't wait to share the rest of my summer over the next few weeks and get into autumn.  (And wish me luck for the new job I'm starting in just 12 hours!)

Road trip 2012, part 6: Backpacking (the flowers)

The wedding of the century

Our friends got married this past weekend!  It was beautiful, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

The daughter of the bride!

Decorations:

And the dance (we brought glow sticks!)

Mark and the groom.

 Me and the lovely bride.

The framed guestbook.

Mushroom yard

I was outside the other day, trimming hedges so the sidewalk in front of the house would be walkable for our neighbors, and noticed some cute things around the yard.  It had been so hot most of the summer, that outdoor exploring time has been pretty limited.  Now that it's been cooler, I feel like I can leisurely stroll around and discover those little details.

When I looked down in the grass, I realized there were mushrooms everywhere!

I started picking them since the lawn mowing company was coming the next day, and then they'd all be smushed.  

I like the red and white ones best, but they'd crumble apart really easily when I'd try to pull them out of the ground.

Some were so tiny you can barely see them in the pictures.

It (finally!) rained today, so I'm hoping that means a fresh batch of mushrooms will be popping up this week!

Road trip 2012, part 5: Backpacking (the descent)

After our evening in the mountains, it was time to head back to the gravel lot we hiked from.  We were expecting it to go pretty quickly (and easily) since most of the hike would be downhill and shorter than the path up, but it didn't quite work out like that.

We started off rather leisurely, posing for pictures with mountains in the background, taking our time to enjoy the scenery, sun, and moderate temperatures.

We used a log as the mount for this picture.

As we continued, we realized that this trail (which was described as "not appropriate for horse travel") was difficult, even (especially?) downhill.  There were narrow trails, loose rock, and steep inclines.

We crossed this creek many times throughout the hike.  An easy and enjoyable task.

And enjoyed breathtaking views, completely unique from those on the hike up the previous day.  As we made our way down, we saw a lot of people.  It was pretty scarce initially, but a few hours into the walk, we were seeing families, couples, and large groups of kids from local summer camps, making the hike up.  There were not, however, other backpackers.

The common destination seemed to be this:

We didn't linger like the other hikers, we were ready to get back to our car and be on the way.  After the waterfall, the terrain got smoother, but then we were up and down smaller hills.  Totally energy sucking at this point.  

After five or six hours we'd made it!  Back to the car, down the road, and to Mark's boss's house for showers, laundry, and a real bed.  <3