Mastodon Hill

Just some of the oaks on Mastodon Hill

There is a small book named TAZ (find the whole book here), an acronym that stands for Temporary Autonomous Zone, written by Hakim Bey.  The TAZ is an ever changing place for wild spirits to congregate.  It shows up over cups of coffee and hash, in dark pubs, and on hikes high up on hills where ospreys call home. The TAZ shows up online as much as it does in the real world.  It is the gift economy and the black market, it is available to makers groups, urban farmers, and foragers.  The TAZ is a freedom beyond all laws and security cameras, because those who find it and participate have found the cracks and crevices where chaos and nature still thrive.

 

Mastodon Hill in summer

The TAZ, like the Tao, is all around us, just waiting to be used.  It awaits our footsteps and welcomes our presence with open arms.  The TAZ, while not always found in nature, thrives in the wild spots and forgotten parcels on the maps that humans have felt the need to make.  The TAZ finds shelter amongst the roots of ancient oak trees and gravel roads that are overgrown with weeds, and when found by those who are ready to see them, provide a place of rest and merriment outside of the default world.

 

A true Pirate and comrade, a warrior of Mastodon Hill

Mastodon Hill is one of these places.  A physical TAZ that is a 60 acre parcel of land that has some how been forgotten about by the land developers and capitalists.  Surrounded by a sprawling industrial park and freeways,  Mastodon Hill perches above the surrounding landscape, a beacon of green anarchy that calls itself home to osprey, deer, coyotes, black walnuts and oak trees that are holdouts from a time when there were far more savannas, prairies, and mature woodlands.

 

Mastodon Hill is my name for this place. It is a place that is special because some how it has been overlooked by progress.  It has evaded the bulldozer and earth movers.  For a place that is so close to human settlement, there is very little trash, and even though it is a literal island in a sea of asphalt, warehouses and a monoculture of suburban housing, it appears to have very few human visitors.  Perhaps the bitter irony is also the saving grace of Mastodon Hill, that no one knows about it or goes there because so few people today have that kind of relationship with nature.

 

I hope you as a reader have your own Mastodon Hill to retreat too when you need inspiration or a break from the stress of modern living.  I hope you have a TAZ that you can share with a lover or good friend, a place to experience life that is not mediated by “THEM”, a place or time to fall in love with, and most importantly, a TAZ that is worth protecting.  Peace and Cheers.

Where is that road going?

 

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Mycophile Summer

Beautiful Velvet Feet growing out of log, look at the snow still on the ground! Mushrooms in March!

A lot of things happened around here this summer.  Some awesome, some not so much.  Somethings came from habit, and some from adventure.  Happiness, sadness, anger, laughter and a universe of other feelings ebbed and flowed in and out of existence as we lived our lives.  It rained and then poured, and then dried up.  Its raining right now as I write, and the world readies itself for sleep as winter looms close on the horizon.

 

Morels, growing out of the forest floor

But thinking back to this spring, a wet one that made the history books, the first thing that really comes to mind are the first morel mushrooms of the season.  I have written before about my forays out into the woods in the early spring, usually around mother’s day, looking for the treasured mushroom.  And this year once again, I was lucky to find some.  I have hunted the woods every spring now for more than 10 years, and I have never been disappointed.  I don’t usually ever find too many, but sometimes I get lucky, or at least know somebody who does so I get a few good meals with the morels.

 

The beehive mushrooms…

The morel mushroom may be one of the most treasured and sought after culinary mushrooms around, but there are thousands of other varieties of fungi just waiting to tell you their story.  And that was one of my goals and accomplishments for this summer, to learn the stories and tales of as many mushrooms as I could. So when I came across these ones growing out of the straw under my backyard beehives early in the summer, I knew the hunt was on.

 

Chanterelles!

There were two mushrooms specifically that I wanted to find and learn about.  For many years now, I have heard about and researched both Chicken of the Woods and Chanterelles but have never found them.  I knew for a fact that the Chickens, also known as Sulphur Shelf mushrooms, were a common late summer mushroom that was very easy to ID.  I also knew that chanterelles grow throughout Minnesota, but had never met anybody who had actually found them.   My mission was set before me, all I had to do was start.

 

Beginning at the end of July, the kids and I went on hikes about every other day.  After a month of no rain, we finally had gotten a few small storms that moistened the landscape and all sorts of fungus began popping up in our yard and throughout the neighborhood.  We didn’t always go out with the intention of hunting down mushrooms, but we always kept our eyes open, and more times than not some type of fungus would cross our path.

 

Chickens!!

One park in particular proved to harbor high levels of mycological life, and it was here that we concentrated our efforts in finding the Chicken of the Woods and the elusive Chanterelles.  The key feature to this land that I think helps support such an abundant and diverse web of fungal life can be attributed to all of the oak trees that can be found throughout the park and hiking trail system.  And not just the living oaks, but ones in all stages of rot and decay.

 

Baaawwwkkk!

It didn’t take long to find either mushroom.  The Chicken came first in this story.  Growing off of an old oak log, was a gorgeous Chicken of the Woods, specifically, Laetiporus cincinnatus.  Chicken of the Woods or Sulphur Shelf mushroom comprise a few different varieties of Laetiporus, the most popular being cincinnatus and sulphureus, which are virtually identical to the untrained eye, though connoisseurs say that cinncinnatus is superior for eating.  I have since found both of them, and both are delectable, and truly taste like chicken when sauteed in butter.  They are what many field guides consider choice eating, and are quite possibly the best mushrooms I have ever eaten!

 

Golden Chanterelles

 

Not long after finding the Chickens, we found our first Chanterelles on a forested valley ridge.  Chanterelles being a mycorrhizal fungus (a fungus that has evolved a symbiotic relationship with the roots of trees) were also found near living oak trees.  The Chanterelle is a very elegant looking mushroom, with a very distinct apricot aroma.  Lacking true gills, a Chanterelle can be identified by it’s ridges which display a forking pattern, rather than the parallel nature of mushrooms with true gills.  The Golden Chanterelle, which is probably the most common species in the genus Cantharellus, does have a deadly look alike commonly known as a Jack ‘O Lanterns (Omphalotus olearius).  But once you become acquainted with the defining features and growth habit, they are easily told apart.  In fact, I have never even seen Jacks, but I have heard that you should hunt them at night, because they glow in the dark!

 

A dark horse candidate who takes 3rd place this year in the fungi challenge is what is known as Hen of the Woods.  Another mushroom named after poultry, Grifola frondosa, is another mushroom that shows up in late summer in hardwood forests, often found at the base of oak trees.  This is another mushroom that I had only ever heard about and never seen, but was pretty sure that I would know it when it found me.

 

Happy Fungal Hunters!

On a beautiful September day hiking with a group of happy fungus hunters, we found two massive specimens of Hen of the Woods!  It is a gorgeous and crazy bracted mushroom that also goes by the name Cauliflower mushroom.  They are great eating, and when you find Grifola frondosa, you will have a lot of mushroom to cook with, so get ready to be creative.  Soups, omelets, casseroles, and pizzas are all good candidates for this fungus!

 

This is a Bear’s Head Lion’s Mane mushroom, Hericium americanum

The same mushroom foray that yielded us the Hen of the Woods, was also one of the most epic mushroom hunts I have ever led or been a part of.  Located in an enchanted forest that is perched on sandstone cliffs, and is filled with mossy ravines and boulders that glaciers deposited roughly 10,000  or so years ago, this magical piece of land was teeming with mycological wonders.

 

WTF!

We found, fell in love, and grew ever closer to mushrooms that day.  Along with the Hen, we also found a mediocre Chicken, a very nice score of near perfect Chanterelles, and many more mushrooms.  Some were known from previous hunts and research, others  we were able to ID with field guides, and some remain a mystery …

Old Man of the Woods, Strobilomyces floccopus?

Who knows?

Milkcaps?

This maybe a psychedelic mushroom growing off of an old wooden shelf by my chicken coop….

In closing, I can more than say that I accomplished my mycological goals for this summer.  Not only did I find and learn how to ID both Chicken of the Woods and Chanterelles, I also learned  about Hen of the Woods, Dryad’s Saddle, King Strophia, Northern Tooth, a small variety of boletes, and many other mushrooms.

 

Dryad’s Saddle, Pheasant Back, or Polyporus squamosus

While I feel like I know more about mushrooms than most people, I still have a lot to learn.  I am an amatuer mycologist, self taught, and definitely am not an expert.  Even though I like to share my stories and experiences about and with mushrooms, I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to do your own research on mushrooms.

 

This is a King Stropharia, or also known as a wine cap. This mushroom was intentionally “planted” in these wood chips and is highly edible.

Never eat a mushroom that you haven’t made a positive ID on.  Always double and triple check a new find.  Never eat too much of a new mushroom, and try to keep a fresh specimen available for at least 48 hours.  Learn how to do spore prints.  And most importantly, do not feel obligated to take mushrooms just because you can.  It is okay to leave them in place and let them live out their lives and spread their spores so a future generation of mushrooms can keep the mycelium running.  Peace and cheers…

 

 

Amanita muscaria

Boletes found in a local park…

WTF!

A mushroom snowman?

Northern Tooth,
Climacodon septentrionale

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An Unplanned Break – Writers’ Block and the Art of Extinction

While the title of this essay may be tinted with a bit of doom and gloom, it is not as ominous as it sounds, and it is a fairly accurate description of the events and stories that follow.  For anyone who has followed this blog over the last five years may have noticed, I have gone through periods of consistent, productive writing, balanced out with dry periods of nothing but writers’ block growing up through the cracks of my mindscape.  While these droughts have been few for the most part, this last one has been pretty epic in scale!  The last time I sat down to write was back in February of this year when I continued with an ongoing series of essays about DIY homebrewing.

 

Winter!!!

Since this last winter (the one filled with all of the Polar Vortexes) many things have happened here at the Dead End Alley Farm, and much of it would have made great copy for essays and DIY how – to’s here on the blog. I am not going to touch on everything, but I guess it is time for us to catch up on current events and happenings around the homestead and the world at large.

 

As I sit here in the afternoon shade with a cold beer in the outside office (a picnic table and some benches, and a hacked together arbor covered in wild grapes and honeysuckle) I am listening to one of the hens cluck away in pride or fear or some other emotion that only a chicken can know.  I can see bumble bees feeding on white clover and catnip, an overcast sky, and my old dog Harvey lying in the grass watching the world go by.

 

There are parts of our yard that are overgrown with weeds that should have been ripped from the ground long ago, and some of our apple trees (especially the big old one in back) are beginning to shed apples like drops of rain.  There is garlic hanging from the roof joists of my back deck and the tomato plants are overloaded with luscious fruit this year.

 

I have three hives of bees this season.  My pride and joy are the Carniolans that overwintered and have proven to be exceptional bees.  They are 3 deep with 2 honey supers (which translates to a very healthy colony that is making a lot of honey), a naturally mated queen (who may be the same one from last year, not real sure if they have swarmed or not this season) leads this tribe, and they are poised to enter this upcoming winter appearing very strong and healthy with adequate food supplies.

 

Installing the Buckfast bees out at our country beeyard.

This spring I also purchased 2 packages of hybrid Buckfast bees that came up from Georgia.  Sadly one perished within the first week (dead queen), but the other one has shown to be a vigorous (if not a bit pissy) hive of bees.  At last check they were finishing up drawing out comb and making honey in 3 deep boxes which should be enough stores for winter. And throughout the early part of the year these Buckfast bees provided frames of brood and eggs to help strengthen my Carniolans, and have also helped out to create a third colony.

 

At the end of June I came across a local company, 4 Seasons Apiaries, that specializes in locally bred queens and nucs.  This is a huge deal for us in Minnesota, not only for the fact that it is hard to find northern bred queens anywhere, but because it was only 20 minutes from my house as the car drives.  I ended up purchasing a really dark queen for $28 and put together a split that was made up of two frames each of the Buckfasts and the Carniolans.  The jury is still out on how this hive is doing though.  The queen is laying eggs, there is brood (both capped and otherwise), and they are actually making quite a bit of honey, but their overall numbers seem low to me.  They will most likely be subsidized with honey from the Carniolans this winter in hopes that they will have enough food to survive the cold, dark days of the upper midwest winter.

 

While I cross my fingers in hopes that all 3 of my colonies will pull through and survive this upcoming winter, observation and common sense tell me that the likelihood of all 3 surviving is slim at best.  Current numbers from this last winters survival rate was anywhere from about 30-50%.  These are horseshit numbers when compared to 20-30 years ago when a beekeeper could expect close to 90% survival rate in their apiaries.

 

My backyard is a refuge for endangered species…

So the same story continues for the bees.  While the numbers of reported cases of colony collapse disorder have evened out (and possibly plateaued), bee losses continue throughout many parts of the world, but seem especially high here in America.  Why this is such a surprise to people baffles me.  Our modern – mono crop – anthropocentric ways of inhabiting this planet are not compatible with a diverse, living, natural world.  This story is no longer just about the bees, but also of the monarch butterfly, the oceans, the remaining old growth forests of the world, and even people.

 

Habitat destruction, climate change, slavery, edible-food-like-products engineered to grow with poison, industrial pollution, and profit – from – disease are all symptoms of the overarching cancer that is this modern day capitalist society. It has grown up around us over the last 300 years, the whole time was spent in a petrochemical party binge, and now that we are drying out we are starting to feel the hangover!

 

It is as simple as this – when the bees lose, we lose, and that is the road we are going down.  The world that we live in, regardless of your flavor of religion, or politics, or indifference is still ruled by cold hard facts established through observation and the scientific method.  The world is changing, mainly its’ climate, but also the make-up of its varied populations.  Every day the Earth loses another creature, another plant.  The last of manifest destiny is completing itself as the few remaining “wild” people are driven from their forest homes, and the blood of ethnic genocide still waters the tree of “Liberty” for those of us in the privileged world .

 

Here is my flooded basement!

This spring my family experienced climate change first hand.  For some naive reason I thought we were insulated from climate change here in Minnesota, but was I wrong!  Starting towards the end of May and going through towards the end of June, we received upwards of 15 inches of rain for the month, with a lot of this rain coming in bursts of multiple inches in short periods of time.  At some point a sewer line about a block and a half away from my home could no longer keep up with the amount of stormwater entering the system and literally collapsed in on itself.  This blockage led to my whole neighborhoods’ sanitary sewers backing up and we had upwards of 14 inches of sewage water in our basements!

 

Lets just say it was a real shitty and smelly problem to clean up.  To add to the mess, the city that I live in is not claiming any real responsibility for the sewer collapsing.  They are saying that the amount of rain that we received is to blame (because no one could have predicted that we would ever get that much rain in such a small space of time), and it is not their problem that the sewer wasn’t designed to handle that much water.  This situation is a good illustration of the intersecting problems of failing infrastructure and its ability to deal with the symptoms of climate change.

 

Not only is it bad enough that our infrastructure is falling apart and failing throughout the country, climate change will only hasten the collapse of these systems that we take for granted.  As there is less and less money to spend on domestic infrastructure projects and basic preventative maintenance, and the ever increasing threats of unstable weather conditions loom closer on all of our horizons, our roads and sewers and all the other systems that make modern lifestyles possible will be challenged and frequently overcome by a force far greater than themselves.

 

What is the quick take away from this conversation?  That as we face the future of a world that struggles to adapt to a changing climate with far fewer cheap resources on hand to work with, we can no longer rely on the long term support of our governments to solve these problems or to even help clean up the messes that ensue.  Just think back to hurricanes Katrina or Sandy (or any number of other climate disasters that happen regularly around the world) and you have all the evidence that you need to show government ineptitude when a climate-crisis strikes.

 

Most of the collapse will be slow and unnoticeable except for those places directly affected by whatever natural disaster decides to strike next.  But with each changing season, and every new climate change induced disaster, bit by bit the comfort and convenience that we are used to will begin to erode away. As long as we keep spending our resources, whether that be gold or oil, in a way that denies climate change and resource depletion, we will find ourselves in a world that is an empty shell of the one we now know.

 

If I were a religious man I may start praying extra hard right now, but thankfully I let science rather than superstition guide my life.  Critical observation and the ability to make rational decisions based on the facts is important.  Not just for a nation or a civilization, but also on the personal and family level.  I think if there is anything I have learned, is that when we can look at problems on multiple levels, do the research that is needed to educate ourselves on these problems, and then make decisions based on these observations to correct the problem, we can do a lot just in our own lives to change the course of events, and add a bit of resiliency and human spirit back into our everyday lives.

 

Nature reclaiming what is rightfully hers!!

As briefly mentioned here in other posts, a year and a half ago I quit a long time job of mine in favor of one that affords me far more free time.  The trade off has been huge, and sometimes quite challenging.  This has been my second summer off, and my first full season as a partially self employed, full time stay at home dad.  It has probably been the most eye opening, and sometimes hardest role I have ever had to play.

 

Being use to the role as the main breadwinner in my family for so long and then giving up that economic control is not easy, but a lesson that I urge you to all try at some point in your life.  After these last few months of being at home with the kids, I have a far greater appreciation and respect for the work that my wife (as well as all you other moms out there!) has done over the last 8 years.  Child rearing is the hardest thing I have ever participated in, but I am glad that I have had the chance to dive in full time.

 

For me the hardest part has been balancing time between time actively spent with the kids, chores, and coordinating our CSA.  The CSA we run is small.  2 full shares, and 2, ½ shares, but it gave me a nice chunk of cash in the spring and early summer for things like groceries (I can’t grow cheese cake!) and gas money.  That cash is gone now, so my new endeavor is working on a business plan that expands out from the CSA in other directions to increase my summer cash flow for a few more months.

 

Eventually I hope to start making a bit of money by raising bees to sell, starting a small plant nursery, and I am also exploring some options for teaching classes.  Using outlets like the public library system, community education, and space at my local co-op, I am hoping to put together a selection of classes that will include introductions to beekeeping and Permaculture, and also a tree grafting workshop each spring.  I am in the early phases of research and planning, but I hope to teach my first official tree grafting class this upcoming spring (contact me if you are interested in hosting a class).

 

I guess when I really sit down and think about it, my ultimate long term goal is to not have to ever work a full time job again, unless it is for myself.  I am not scared of hard work, but it comes back to the fact that I am no longer alright selling my time to some asshole when I am fully capable of doing something(s) I am passionate about and generate an income for myself at the same time.

 

You can’t stop nature!

Is this selfish?  Maybe, but I am okay with that as well.  I have begun to realize more than ever most people are just clueless drones.  Who after years of taking orders, and numbing themselves with TV, processed food, and fanatical beliefs in fairy tales can no longer truly take care of themselves or make desicions that impact their destiny.  As it stands, with humans being prisoners to their own creations and all,  I do not have a lot of hope for humanity right now.

 

If you follow David Holmgren’s work Future Scenarios, we are most likely entering into the Brown Tech future.  A world where we will continue draining the Earth of its fossil fuels, destroying the last of the wild lands, converting more and more  of that land to desertscapes of monocrops, and the further erosion of our shared cultural heritage, modern Homo Sapiens have perfected the art of extinction.

 

It is a bleak future.  One that leaves less and less room for those of us who seek freedom and justice.  It is a world that has been reduced to cultural poverty by traditions and tragedies alike.  It is a world where all life on Earth has been reduced to interchangeable and disposable parts in the pursuit of Progress.  It is a world filled with death and injustice, but it is also falling apart.

 

Whether humans can survive this collapse of our own making is yet to be determined.  It will be hard, but even the strongest rock is defeated by water and wind in the end.  It is in these cracks and fissures that we can seek our refuge.  The spots forgotten about and overlooked.  The areas where literal and figurative weeds grow.  The edges.  The TAZs where humanity still flourish.

 

Go on hikes.  Hunt mushrooms.  Raise bees.  Raise Kids.  Bake bread.  Love.  Hate.  Grow some carrots.  Chop some wood.  Pull some weeds.  Laugh.  Hug a puppy.  Cry.  Resist!  Grow.  Take a nap.  Rise up!  Read a book.  Lend a hand.   Take notes.  Have fun.  Fish.  Visit a friend.  Hug your mom.  Plant trees.  Be human….

Freedom!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A 2 Pound Puffball and Other Autumn Fungi

Here is a dark shot of myself and the giant puffball that I checked out from the library!

Two nights ago I found myself at our public library, diving deep into the bowels of what the Affordable Care Act will mean for my family and what our options for insurance may be.  Between looking at different websites trying to navigate this maze of government red tape, my mind would wander and my eyes would focus on the view looking down on the land outside of the library.  Our library was built over 20 years ago on land that was one of the last remaining farmsteads in W. St. Paul, MN and it still contains a few aspects of what it once was.

The fact that the county purchased this land for building a library (rather than a housing or commercial developer), was in certain regards a saving grace for some of the wildlife that called this little piece of Earth home.  So while there is a big library building and parking lot, there are a few acres of land that hold the remnants of a small oak savanna, a pond full of ducks and geese, black walnuts, birches, maples, delicious fruiting mulberries, aronia bushes, wild raspberries and many other species of plants and animals.

There is also a thriving underground network of mycelia; in other words mushrooms that also inhabit this small holdout of nature.  Sitting there in the library, daydreaming of affordable health care, my eyes were distracted by a large, white orb maybe 30 or 40 yards away from me.  From my vantage point looking through the windows, it was hard to tell exactly what it was – maybe a kid lost a ball, or someone lost a grocery bag to the wind, but whatever it was, my eyes kept coming back to it.  Something inside me knew what it was all along, so before it got too dark outside, I packed up my bag and made the short hike to find out what this mysterious object actually was.

Thar’ she be gettin’ weighed in … Yaargh!

It took me less than five minutes to find what I was looking for, and let me say it was hard to miss!  I have seen some puffball mushrooms in my life, but nothing like this!  This Calvatia gigantea, or more commonly known as a giant puffball, weighed in at just over 2 pounds and was harvested at just the right time.  It was the perfect age for eating, and had no damage from bugs.  I gratefully harvested this gigantic fungi, and headed home to show my family.

Mushrooms are an interesting food in our household.  I am a crazy mushroom freak – I love hunting for them, eating them, and learning about them!  My kids are slowly following in my footsteps and becoming a bit more adventurous when it comes to eating mushrooms, and my wife is allergic to all mushrooms so she keeps her distance.  Needless to say, I am spoiled when it comes to mushrooms as there are very few mouths that I have to share my mushrooms with.

Knowing that I could only eat so much on my own, I brought some of the giant puffball with me to work to share with a few folks who I know would appreciate such a find.  Both of my bosses in the kitchen where I work love wild crafted mushrooms.  The day before my find, we tried some sulphur shelf mushroom (Laetiporus sulphurues), which is a bright orange, highly edible mushroom common to Minnesota and most of North America.  Two wild mushrooms in two days, not too bad!

I ended up cutting thick slices of the puffball and sauteing the pieces in butter with a little bit of salt and pepper.  How to describe them short of saying they were heavenly?  They are very light with a noticeable, but subtle, mushroom flavor and a texture that literally melts in your mouth.  In the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, giant puffballs are described as choice, which means don’t pass these up when you get a chance to eat them!

Here is the unidentified bolete from the library. Any guesses?

Another mushroom that I found the next day, also on this same land at the library is some type of bolete.  There were a few dozen of them growing in the footprint of a birch, so it leads me to believe that it is the birch bolete, or Leccinum scabrum or possibly the Slippery Jack that is comprised of a few other varieties of boletes.  This is a perfect example of why it is so important to make a positive ID before consuming any mushroom.

According to my Mushroom Field guide, boletes contain the largest number of edible species of any family of mushrooms.  While there is a good chance that the one I found is edible, and most likely quite good, I will not be taking a bite until I can make a positive ID, which most likely will not happen this season.

Making a positive identification of mushrooms can be done in a number of ways.  The first and easiest is by visual observation.  This works for some mushrooms without any problems.  I was taught about the “FoolProof Four” which include Morels, puffballs, sulphur shelfs, and chanterelles.  I have found three of the four and am still trying to track down chanterelles.  From my understanding, chanterelles do have a few look alikes that are not good for you, so having some back up methods of making positive identifications for mushrooms is a good thing to know about.

Other methods include knowing whether a mushroom has gills, pores, or some other way disseminating its spores.  Aroma can also be a clue, like the first time I found Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) there was an overwhelming smell of anise, which in the case of oyster mushrooms is an identfying characteristic.  Location of where it was found can be helpful, but by no means does it prove anything about the exact species.  And then there is a relatively simple test that you can do called a spore print (I will write about this sometime, I promise) that can also help you to ID a mushroom.  While I will not go into detail here about a spore print test, it is a very helpful way in determining what a mushroom may be.

Ultimately, if you are into mushrooms and enjoy hunting them and eating them, then educating yourself is the most important thing you can do.  The internet is very helpful, but personally I have found real life books to be more enjoyable when it comes to learning about mushrooms.  The National Audubon Society Field Guide To Mushrooms has been indispensable on my mushroom forays throughout the years, for it is full of great pictures and very scientific descriptions that have lead to some neat discoveries.  Another one that I have found helpful is Edible Wild Mushrooms of N. America by David W. Fischer and Alan E. Bessete.  This book is not nearly as comprehensive as the Audubon Field guide, but focuses more on edible mushrooms and all the wonderful ways that they can be prepared and preserved.

Just like gardening, tapping maple trees, or trying to catch a swarm of bees, mushroom hunting (and eating them as well) will always be an exciting and somewhat seasonal part of my life.  As I write, the seasons seem to be changing in front of me!  Cold winds blow out of the north, the leaves are changing colors and are falling to the ground, and I can see the Dark Days of winter looming not far off over the horizon.  But even with this season winding down there is always the hope of the future to keep us going and moving forward.  Soon enough the cold embrace of winter will keep me inside more than I would like to admit, but even winter does not last forever!  Before I know it, I will be out again, scouring the ground for the ever wonderful Morel!  Peace & Cheers

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Spring Photos – Part II !!

Dear Readers –  Due to the time of year, I am once again too busy with gardens and other projects to get any real writing finished.  Although I have many thoughts on my mind, and stories to share, I leave you with more photos of what has been going on around the homestead.  Once things settle down, I hope to get back into the swing of things, and start putting all my thoughts back  into words, but until then … Enjoy … Peace and Cheers!!

Here is the addition we just added to the chicken run. Our original run was too small for 6 chickens... They are much happier now, and not nearly as loud!!

Freya with a giant morel mushroom!!

Here is another perspective of what we found!!

On the left is brewer's yeast sourced from a local brewery, in the center is honey, and on the right is bee pollen. These are the makings for pollen patties that will help feed our bees. They should be arriving in the next week or so... updates to follow!

Here are about 60 grafted apple, cherry, and plum trees! Some of these are going to be a part of the new cider orchard at my in - laws, some will be planted here at the Autonomy Acres homestead, and some still need homes .... Contact me if you are in the Twin Cities and are looking for a custom grafted fruit tree!!

Here is the new blueberry garden. Northland, Elliott, Blue Crop, and Jeresy are the varieties that have been planted. The challenge will be giving them the acidic soil that they need to thrive ... I will touch on this in a future post.

Five rows of spuds!! In a few months we will hopefully be pulling out pounds of Yukon Golds, Dark Red Norlands, and Russetts!!

Owen exploring the river flats!!

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From the Garden to the Table: Asparagus, Dandelions, Morels, and other Spring Edibles

Freshly harvested asparagus and dandelion flowers!!

It has taken it’s sweet time to arrive, but I believe spring is finally here in Minnesota.  The dandelions are in full bloom, the lawns of the chemical aristocrats are full and green, and the first harvests’ (both wild and domesticated) of the season are starting to come in.  After waiting patiently for two years, we are finally able to harvest asparagus from our garden.  Asparagus officinalis, has been a cultivated plant since at least the time of the Egyptians, and has always been considered a delicacy because of it’s short growing season.  So far we have grilled it and used it in a quinoa salad, sautéed it in butter with onions, and have used it in a ham and cream sauce pasta.  As our patch of asparagus matures and fills out, I hope to be able to harvest enough to pickle it.

Mother's Day meal - Chipotle, raspberry chicken breast, quinoa salad with spring greens and asparagus, and beer battered, deep fried dandelion flowers!

Next up, Dandelions!  By far, these beautiful flowers and greens are one of my favorite plants (I have one tattooed on my forearm), both for culinary, and philosophical reasons.  Any plant that can grow in the cracks of concrete and society, and blaze the path for the return of wild(er)ness is a friend of mine!  I have been eating dandelions for about eight years now.  When I first moved into my house, my neighbor, who is of Lebanese decent, turned me onto eating dandelions.  We use the greens in salads and pasta, they can be used like spinach in Spinakopeta (a Mediterranean spinach pie) and any other way you might use lettuce or spinach.  Another aspect of dandelions that is overlooked is it’s contribution to healthy gardens.  Most people think of it as a weed, but dandelions are far from that.  Due to their huge taproot, they bring up nitrogen and other nutrients for other plants to use and they also attract beneficial insects for pollination.  The day that America can end it’s war against the dandelion will be a good day for our food security, our soils health, and the survival of the honey bee.

A plate 'O Morels!!

Another sure sign of spring is mushrooms.  Not just any mushroom, but the highly sought after and prized morchella esculenta, or also known as the Morel mushroom.  My son and I just found some yesterday while visiting my in-laws out in the country.  I have written about morels before so I won’t go into great detail, but for those of you who have never tried them, they are amazing.  We ate ours with chives from the garden and scrambled eggs.  Probably the best breakfast ever!  Depending on the weather, here in the Twin Cities we may have anywhere from a week to two weeks to continue finding them.  I have a new spot I am going to be hunting this year, and if I have any real success there may be another post about morels coming up!!

One last spring edible I would like to share with you is Garlic Mustard.  Alliaria petiolata, is a new plant to me.  I have heard about it, but never knew what it looked like.  All that changed a week or two ago when I found it growing in the back of my yard.  With the help of Wikipedia and a few wild crafting websites and books, I made a positive identification and mixed it in with a dandelion salad.  It is really good (it actually does taste similar to garlic), but it has a few down sides.  According to the Minnesota DNR website, garlic mustard is highly invasive and according to wikipedia, it also suppresses the growth of mushrooms in forests (maybe that is why it is getting harder to find morels in the spring)!  Anyways, now that I know what it looks like, it is all over the forest floor.  I will continue to use it as a salad green, but I will never feel bad about over harvesting garlic mustard, it is everywhere!  Now these are just a few examples of what you can basically get for free in the spring, don’t forget about burdock root, nettles, herbs like lemon balm, mint, chives and many other plants.  Keep your options and your palate open and you might find a new food that you can fall in love with!  Cheers!

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Morchella Esculenta: More on Morels

A bag full of wonderful Morels! Yeah!

Talking with my good friend Ben, I just heard another great folk saying concerning Morchella esculenta, or morels, ” A bad day for morels is a good day for ramps.”  Well we had a great day for morels, and a bad day for ramps (wild onions/leeks).  We were down at my in-laws again and I came across these morels in almost the same spot as the first batch of mushrooms.  One thing I have noticed with the morels so far this year is 1) they are coming early, and 2) they are tending to be slightly smaller than normal.  I am writing this post on Saturday evening after a full day of decent rain.  Tomorrow is also supposed to be rainy, so if by Monday or Tuesday we can warm up and get some nice sun, this next week could provide even more morels!

Following are some simple, but absolutely wonderful ways of preparing morel mushrooms.

Creamed Morels in Puff Pastry  Start with diced onion and saute’ in butter until tender.  Add chopped morels and keep cooking until those become tender.  Add heavy cream to make a gravy, and salt and pepper to taste.  Take the morel mushroom gravy and fill puff pastry cups and serve.

Saute’d Morels and chives with scrambled eggs  Once again, start with melted butter and saute’ the morels until tender.  Add fresh chives or green onions from the garden and saute’ briefly.  At this point you could either scramble eggs into the morels and chives, or use the mix for a omlete filling, either way it will be wonderful.

A note on cooking with morels.  Cleaning and washing the morels is important.  Morels are hollow so it is easy for dirt and sometimes little critters to get inside them.  Soaking the mushrooms in water with a little bit of salt is the way to go.  Soak for about five minutes and then lightly wash them off.  If you aren’t going to be using them right away, gently dry them off with a towel and store them in a bag in the refrigerator.  Morels can also be dried.  If you have a huge harvest and know you won’t eat them all fresh go ahead and dry them.  Don’t wash them, and use wire racks to air dry.  Give them a couple days to a week to dry.  They will reduce quite a bit in size.  You will know when they are dried.   The dried morels can be stored in a zip lock bag or in a jar.  To use dried morels, reconstitute them with boiling water.  Garlic is a great addition to morels, but go light on the garlic.  It is easy to over power the morel’s delicate flavor.  Wine is also another great ingredient to use to help cook mushrooms.  Be creative and cherish such a unique and delicious food as the morel mushroom! Cheers!

                                                                                               

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Urban Wilderness Exploration: Fort Snelling State Park and the Sibley Trail

It is hard to believe that this stream is only ten minutes away from down town St. Paul!

My son and I got out yesterday for another tromp through the woods.  The main goal was  to have fun and hang out together, but we were also looking for more morel mushrooms.  We headed down to the eastern edge of Fort Snelling State Park.  This is one of the main parks of the Twin Cities’ large urban wilderness areas, and it connects a handful of other parks and a wildlife refuge, and taken together this area is huge.

There was a snake about a foot away from this frog, both seemed content hanging out in the sun!

We only found three morels, but we saw a few frogs, a garder snake, and a bunch of ducks.  The marsh marigolds are in bloom and the forest undergrowth is about ankle high right now.  This is one of our favorite spots to go hiking and I have been exploring and learning about this area for over ten years.  This spring we had major floods on the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers, so less than a month ago this whole area was under a couple of feet of water.  Both of these rivers come together at Pike island, which can be seen from the hiking trail.  The majority of Fort Snelling State Park is on the western side of the Minnesota River, but over at the Sibley trail (on the eastern side) there is still a lot to see.  On the western side of the river, you can get to Crosby Farm Park, Hidden Falls Park, and to the south the Minnesota River Valley Wildlife refuge.  I don’t know how much acreage all of these areas add up to, but it is probably one of the largest urban wilderness areas in the nation.

We followed the railroad tracks back to the truck. These tracks would take you all the way down to Shokopee and beyond!

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The Morels are Coming!!

A beautiful gold morel mushroom! One of at least thirty or so that will be harvested in about two days.

What a great day it has been.  We were down at my in-laws visiting and loading up on rotted horse manure, and talking about the weather, a very Minnesotan topic to talk about.  So far this spring everything seems to be happening about two weeks early.  The garlic is four inches tall, the hops are up, dandelions are already flowering, there are flower buds on the apple trees, the asparagus is popping up, and I found the first morel of the season.  We usually don’t start looking until the lilacs are starting to flower, which here in the twin cities area is usually around mother’s day.  But here we are, April 17 and the morels are starting to pop, at least at my in-laws.  They live about an hour from the Twin Cities and have a little bit of  land.  Last fall we started clearing out some over grown areas that included some dead and dying elm trees.  The folk-lore goes that morels grow near elms, especially dead and dying ones.  We have always found morels here, but the last couple of years have not been as productive.  I have a good feeling about this year, both at my in-laws place, and few other spots I go hunting.  This first batch of morels that I came across are still very small, so I left them for my mother-in-law to pick in a day or two from now.  For any one not familiar with morel mushrooms, they are considered one of the most delicious and sought after gourmet mushrooms in the world.  Fresh morels can sell for $20-$40 a pound, and dried morels can go for at least $100 a pound.  Talk about some valuable fungus.   As I am planning on having a good season for morels, I will go into a little more detail in another post, until then, happy morel hunting! Cheers!

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Urban Wilderness Exploration: Lillydale Regional Park and the Brickyard Trail

This is the north end of Pickeral lake.

 This last Sunday we took time off from our busy spring schedule, and explored part of our extended backyard.  We headed down to Lillydale Regional Park, also known as the brickyards. It is a great park that I have not explored enough.  The brickyards has a long history and has been a part of the St. Paul landscape and culture for over a century.  In the late 1800’s city dwellers started to dig extensive cave systems in the soft sand stone.  At different points throughout their lives, the caves have been used for growing mushrooms, lagering beer, storage, garbage dumping, and as mines for the material to making bricks.  This last use is where this park got it’s unofficial name.  There are bricks everywhere. 

Here comes the morning sun through the trees!

 Nowadays most of the caves are closed off, but when I was a kid I can remember going down there on school field trips and walking far back in the caves.  Those are great memories.  Along with the caves,  Lillydale Park has a unique micro climate, especially since it is only five minutes from downtown St. Paul.  The part of the park where the brickyard trail runs has at least three running springs, but probably more.  There is a very unique wetlands about two hundred feet up the bluffs, and there are also a few fossil beds that contain trilobites, shells and other ancient sea plants and animals.

Giant tree roots growing through the roof of an old kiln used for firing the bricks.

Another very cool aspect of this park is seeing how nature is reclaiming old industrial ruins.  The best example is this picture.  We came across a giant, old brick kiln.  What is left of it stands close to ten feet tall, and is 15-20 feet across.   At the top left of the kiln is where this tree is growing.  I’m sure at some point the brick arch will finally give way and the whole thing, tree and all will come tumbling down.  But until then, it is quite a sight.  There are also traces of old roads, and lots of partial walls.  The brickyards shut down in the 1970’s, so it has only taken nature 40 years to basically make the area wild again.  I have read articles about Chernobyl and how nature and wildlife now abound in the area that was once the site of the world’s most deadly nuclear accident.  Similar things are happening in Detroit and other urban areas that are becoming depopulated.  Nature is resilient, and given a chance will take care of all the concrete asphalt, crack by crack, and turn it into rubble, and then eventually a new landscape. Beautiful!

 

As far as an urban wilderness expierence, The Brickyards rank high up on my list.  I hope to visit the springs, and caves, and fossil beds many more times as my kids grow up.  Anyone near the Twin Cities who has not been down to Lillydale Regional Park should give it a try.  Pack a lunch and a couple cold beers, gear up the kids, and get a leash for the dog, and go get lost for a couple of hours! Cheers!

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