Mushroom walk

Its been raining the past few days. Warm, humid and rainy. So, early this morning, when there was a break in the weather, I went strait to the forest to look for mushrooms. I was not disappointed. It seems like every possible mushroom was out, enjoying the warm rain. It was just passed dawn, and everything was still. The damp, spongy ground muffled my footsteps. The forest was completely silent as I crept threw the undergrowth taking pictures. The mushroom diversity is amazing. So many shapes, so many colours.They remind me of delicate flowers that smell of rich, damp earth, and appear as if by magic, with no leaves, or swelling buds to give them away. I wish I knew more about mushrooms, there are only a select few that I can identify beyond doubt. And Mushrooms are not something I'm willing to take a chance on, so for now, its only pictures. I dream of the day that I know enough to go pick us wild mushrooms for dinner. I've been actively searching for someone to teach me, but so far, no luck. Here are some of the beauties I saw:

Apple time.

My favourite time of year is upon us.  The morning air is crisp and you need a sweater to do the morning chores. The leaves are starting to change colours, The crops are ready for harvest and the apple trees are heavy with fruit. Its time for the abundance of pies, preserves, and people to share them with. In the warm farmhouse kitchen with a fire crackling in the woodstove and a hot beverage in hand.
I've talk about our orchard before. As the season wears on, more and more of the ancient trees are coming into fruit. Our property was a functioning farm for many generations. Paul's grandmother says she can remember some of the trees being old and covered in fruit when she was a child, and she's now in her 90s. New trees were being added, and the old trees tended until the farm was abandoned in the 70s. The original house is now long gone, and the surrounding forest has claimed many of the fruit trees. But many survive. Some are so choked by the advancing tamarack and spruce that all you can see of them is a gnarled old trunk and a few leaves. Others have faired quit well.  We're working to liberate and rejuvenate the old orchard. Clear out the area, plant new trees (old verities only) where none remain, and care for the once that survive. Its a huge undertaking that will take many years, but its so rewarding to see these trees start to recover, and harvest their long forgotten bounty. So far, all we've found is apples but we were told there used to be plums, pears and cherries in abundance as well. It must have been beautiful in its heyday. It still is in a haunting forgotten place kinda way.