India-based “Outlook Traveller” recently contacted me to learn more about my work and my life. Check out the interview here. Thanks Antara!
Interview conducted via email now up!
When in Rome, er, the Sea of Cortes
Hola desde el mar de Cortes!
Ola! There are no mushrooms or moss here on the Sea of Cortes in Mexico, but there are plenty of shells and occasional pieces of washed up seaweed to play with.
Final Winter PNW Mushroom Medley
—-For this season! I found and made these about a week ago, before leaving for a road trip south. After 10 years of caretaking/housesitting for others in the islands who visit warmer climates in the winter months, I thought I’d try it out myself. And get a break from living on a construction site. I’ve just arrived at the spot where I’ll be spending the next month. I’ll share more soon once I’ve unpacked!
The best place for a formerly wild forest dog to hide from boisterous big puppies and small children.
Merry Christmas!
My favorite christmas gift, my Jasper dog, under the tree! Merry Christmas everyone!
Medley Evolution
Tracking the latest medley over three days of snowfall and ice rain!
Thank you, past self from 2 days ago!
Solstice Medley
I found some mushrooms and leaves in Truckee that I’d collected a few days back, frozen but intact! I made this quick Solstice offering with other found leaves and icicles, before my fingers froze, sending me inside. Here’s to the coming light, we in the northern hemisphere made it through the first half of the dark days!
Winter Solstice Island Snow Kayaking!
My favorite time of winter on our sparsely populated island roads!
The first good dump of snow each season means snow kayaking!
Happy Solstice!
Growing up in Northern California, snow was not something I experienced much. My neighbors here on the island humor me each year by participating in an organized snow kayaking event.
Snow kayaking in the first good dump of snow is my favorite way to endure the cold and darkest days of winter here on the island. Yesterday we woke to 8” - 12” of snow, so winter solstice was celebrated a day/night early.
I organized the kayaking party with a neighbor driving while 5 of us took turns in the kayaks dragged behind. With less than 50 winter residents on our island, there were very few other cars on the island roads and lots of fresh kayak powder!
Another neighbor had a good fire going by the time daylight faded, others brought drinks and freshly baked cookies, and I made a simple dinner to share around the fire in the dark 20F night cold.
Maybe we’ll do it all again today/tonight.
Brrr, its cold!
Snow and cold are here! I didn’t get the wood stoves hooked up in the house or the temporary shed living quarters yet, so I’m holing up in the shed with two space heaters admiring the snow falling outside on the house/studio-in-progress.
Frosty morning finds
In a few days morning frost will be replaced with morning snow!
Finds while working in the garden yesterday.
Garden finds
Mushrooms in the strawberry bed, alyssum blooms, calendula blooms and seed pods, violet blooms, beet tops, cabbage leaves, chamomile blooms, broccoli seed pods… there’s some life in the garden yet this December!
All found along the trail down to the beach.
On the Way to the Beach
The sun came out today, so naturally Jasper dog and I had to go down to the beach to bask in it for a while! The mushroom gills are beginning to show their true colors now, literally!
Hastily gathered as the sun began to set.
A wee one in the waning day light
The gills are sporting more color now! These are all the same types of mushrooms I found last week, but drained in color, presumably by the uncommon cold dry conditions we’ve had this season so far. But now as the weather has been the typical cool and wet of the season, color gills are appearing.
Today’s finds while weeding vines in a neighbor’s yard.
More albino specimens today!
Appropriate finds for the next week of freezing night time temps!
THey're Popping up now!
Now the mushrooms are appearing, some several months later than usual and drained of their usual color. For example, the gills of the yellow-topped Stropharia amigua (the two darkest mushrooms in this medley) sport a mere blush of their usual deep lavender-grey color this year. And some of these taupe gilled-mushrooms (I don’t recall the name ATM) are usually a deeper tan/brown. So interesting! I have a decade of photographic islands medley documentation to refer back on now - September was my 10 year “islandaversary” - and this is the latest start and least prolific mushroom season I’ve experienced since my arrival out here.
A Weekend Away
This past weekend I went two islands over via a boat ride from my tiny island to the mainland, then hopped on the ferry to San Juan island. I vended my wares at the San Juan Island Flea Market and caught up with friends I hadn’t seen in a few years. By the end of the trip I was hoarse from talking so much and ready to be alone! The larger islands are so much busier than the little one I live on now! Today I’m recovering from the weekend whirlwind trip, followed by a mainland supply run yesterday for myself and a few island neighbors.
This morning’s finds while roaming the forest in my jammies.
A few more finds
Still not finding many mushrooms beyond white gills, but the recently fallen leaves are colorful! I found remnants of a bird having a bad day, but her/his feathers are a beautiful addition to today’s thankfulness of my surroundings.
Working on an alternate heat source.
Weather Appropriate
The past few days I’ve been working on completing a project I began 2 years ago, only to be constantly sidetracked by more important build projects! But this is the winter the woodshop/my temporary home gets its woodstove installed! The interior bits are finished, save for some finish trim work. The exterior installation will have to wait for another day warmer than today’s 30F with 20MPH winds!
Finally finding a few more types of mushrooms here!
A few more
The fall mushroom season always seems to start out with little bursts of tiny white-gilled mushrooms and then progresses through the rainbow as the season unfolds. The season is 2 months later than usual, it’ll be interesting to see if all the different types make their appearance in the next few months, or if some will sit out fruiting this year. We shall see!
Jasper dog posing in front of the new/old french doors leading into the art studio side of the build.
The studio gets it's doors!
There’s still work to be done to get these doors fully operational, but after 20 hours over 3 days they are both hanging straight and true! And now, thanks to the patience and help of a knowledgable neighbor, I have a basic understanding of installing french doors, which will come in handy for future projects. I’m off to indulge in pumpkin pie!