Busy is a busy does

I've been working with a magnet, a rake, and a broom to clean up the concrete slab and the small bits of metal that are in the dirt around it. The 'good stuff' that was hidden in the garage included old rusted coffee cans full of old rusted nails of every size one could think of.

I do know that Rich's father also collected nails, even straight used ones. My Grandparents' generation never threw out things that could be re purposed or reused. My mom was the same way as was Rich's folks and Rich. For those that lived through very hard times, repurposing was not a fad but a necessity.

So, if the garage had never been crushed or inundated with water, most of those nails could have been useful to build something with the lumber that is in the dry confines of our machine shed.

Unfortunately, the clean up dropped a LOT of nails and chunks of miscellaneous metals all around the all garage. This weekend, I filled two 5 gallon buckets with pieces of metal, glass, and nails. 

Patrick will be back to do some more work this coming week in the meantime, I am looking for broken glass, metals, and sharp things along with metals. A good magnet on a handle is a great helper.

The dogs check on the progress and then go lay down on the porch. It is too tiring to watch me work.

I did manage to take some 'fun' time for me. On our morning hike/walk with my 4 legged pals, I took some toys.

Hannah is still learning to not always nose over toys while I am photographing. Charlie has that down pat.

The two shots below were done with a deep foggy morning and very little sunlight. I knew the fungi wouldn't stick around once the sun came out so I grabbed my 1:87 HO Scale mountain climbers and thought...this could be fun!

It turned out to be fun. Twice I dropped the tiny guy in the blue shirt. Thankfully it wasn't in a bunch of flowers and it was in the mulch where I could find him easily.

 I believe the fungi/mushroom is called Pleated Inky Caps. I find them often in the flowerbed mulch. They are doing a job enriching the soil and breaking down the mulch so I just admire them.

On the dog hike, I brought Qilin, the Mythical Creature from Lego. I built this not because I like the kid series Monkey Boy, but because the creature is posable and delightfully colorful.

I know that Qilin and the Ninjango character I acquired years ago seemed to just go together.

I carefully carried it out to the meadow. [Carefully, I didn't want to lose any pieces of this mythical creature!]

I think Lego missed the point in putting these characters in different toy stories. Definitely this guy and the dragon match in glowing and bright wonderful colors.

no dogs knocked this down!

I left the Mythical Creature at the campsite and followed the dogs deep into the woods. I let them be my guides. I should do that more often.

I found dozens of sights in my forest with Indian Pipes aka Monotropa Uniflora. I like the names: Ghost Plants and Indian Pipes better.

What an amazing background a group of them would make alongside a deer trail for my Princess Sara and her faithful bodyguard Joan of Knight.

Yes, Princess Sara rides a horse and carries her faithful stick horse which I am assuming has magical powers. She also has the little red dragon with her. They are on a mission and a journey to defeat some evil in the world.

After an early morning of tromping through the woods and getting soaked by the dew, we returned home to continue working on the cleaning the old garage site.

By late afternoon, I decided I'd had enough back breaking bending over work and charged up the mower to trim the yard. Over the week we had another half inch of rain along with humidity and heat so the grass decided to really get with the growing program again.

Now that it is out of the way, I don't have to deal with it until next week [hopefully].

I went to bed early. The dogs were exhausted from supervising all day.

But when I woke up around midnight, I couldn't help but stay up a bit longer to admire the Milky Way from the porch.

Looks like a busy short week ahead. 

I am planning this weekend to be joyful. With a celebration of my husband's life. Of course it will be bittersweet, but I carry him in my heart always.

And so this....

Take a good look at this mess. It may well be a memory by this weekend. 

I got a text from Patrick on Monday saying the Dumpster will be delivered on Wednesday. I was momentarily confused as he'd planned the work for much later. He had the time and is getting right with the program. 

Color me very very impressed.

The engine hoist stays, that is how I lift the mower and clean it out. It may be placed in a less conspicuous place.

September 2026

March 2026

Most of the 'stuff' that was piled around the garage has been cleaned up, but there is stuff in the weeds that I can't get to and don't want. Hopefully those small things will get cleaned up also. I am not allowing the scrappers back to search in this building, it is a hazard at this point.

June 2012

The deconstruction and this week's work will keep me from getting out to another Fungi search at least until Sunday. 

Stay tuned! I may set up my trail cam to take a time lapse of the de-construction.

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My Grand daughter will be spending Saturday with me and she is not a forest person at all.

Looks like a busy week for me and no fun fungi marches!

However, I can add to what I did find last Sunday.

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Below is a photo of the end of the bluff where the trail dead ends looking over the Kickapoo River.

Below are some very odd looking mushrooms!

Elfin Saddle or White Saddle and Scientific name:

Helvella Crispa

I almost passed these up because they had such bizarre shapes. I thought perhaps they had been stepped on and deformed. However, saw too many of them to be that.

These beauties below...well maybe not beautiful to

the casual observer...

Amanita Panther 

Poisonous!

I couldn't help but think of Ailie who is an action figure I have. She would chop one of these down and dry it. If you got on her bad side I imagine she'd slip some Amanita Powder in your drink. Be nice. 😋

 I didn't know what this might be until I got out my reference books.

The common name for this beauty is a Cauliflower Mushroom.

I think it could be called a Sparassis americana or spathulata. This is the first time I've found one and spent quite a bit checking it out.

I found so many of these growing, tiny little Boletes beginning to come up all over.

That is the end of my fungi/mushroom tour on the Wintergreen Trail. I can't wait for another trip out along the bluffs of the Kickapoo River.

Busy days ahead.

Places we go

And...

Tales on Trails

Bluffs and Hemlock Pines

Secret springs

fresh cool waters

Incredible landscapes

Coral Fungi

 Strap shaped coral fungi. 

I find them each year on these pine bluffs.

Spiney Puffball

The trail we were on is no longer found on any map. I rode it with my husband years ago.

When the Kickapoo Valley Reserve was created this trail became a hiking trail only mostly because of the unique landscape and micro climate that the bluffs and river create.

Five years ago the KVR management took that trail off their map. I understand why they did it. It is a difficult trail. A winter storm took down quite a few trees in one section which blocked off a section of the trail. 

Any work to clear the section would require nearly a mile of hiking with a chainsaw one way and would require a crew to do the work. The trail has a rather deep and wide water crossing at one point too. I assume that maintenance would be rather difficult.

The bluffs and the river create a unique micro climate that isn't found in any other parts of the Midwest.

Each August and September I explore this area. The trailhead is overgrown and no longer visible from the road. But IF you know where it is and push through the brush, you can find it. There are a lot of deadfalls and little detours along with some 'bush whacking'. The effort is well worth it.

I usually find so many different varieties of mushrooms and odd ones I rarely see anywhere else.

Boletes

Charlie hanging out at the beach ... 

The view of the unique river and its bluffs...

The dogs had a blast exploring and using their sniffers. 

They spent the rest of the day snoozing and maybe dreaming of all the cool scents they discovered.

I came, I saw, I Blewit

Starting in late August through October if we are not in a drought, it is prime time for mushrooms and a celebration of strange and colorful fungi.

Someone asked me what got me so interested in mushrooms. My simple answer was that I'd seen them and decided I'd like to photograph them.

I like being curious. When I'd find wildflowers, I'd photograph them and take them home to compare to an ID book. Mushrooms and slime molds became fun to find and fascinating to photo. It is like an alien world.

I took these with my cellphone as it seems to adjust to the light better than the camera. They are small. The one below was just emerging from the mix of dirt and sand below it. 

 

I also found what seems to be a hard plant to find. I've only found 6 in all the years I've been hiking. They are not generally seen right next to a trail. I just love their leaves and design. I've seen one in flower one time.

Rattlesnake Plantain:

I also brought along a couple of minifigs. They like to travel and hike with me of course. I found a perfect spot to place the Monkey King.

Last but not least.

I thought I found a Blewit Mushroom

Such a beautiful blue color! So different! I've found them once before in this general area and am always amazed by their color and beauty.

4 years ago in the same general area I found these. 

They are so startling. Another time I found remnants of them as someone else had walked along and kicked all of them to smithereens. 

I do wish people would just admire these beautiful mushrooms and leave them alone.

I looked into the Blewit mushroom and found that these really didn't quite fit the description. Perhaps they could be a fungi known as Indigo Inky.

So I may have blown the ID years ago, but that doesn't stop me for looking for these each year along this section of trail.