Monday Mushrooms

Retired Mountain Man found these Lobster Mushrooms (Hypomyces lactifluorum) near where he parks his pickup.  They must have popped up after that rain we had last Tuesday.  We were surprised to find them as we usually find them in mid to late August.

 A lobster mushroom really isn't a mushroom at all, but rather it's a fungus that has parasitized a russula or lactarius mushroom.   It's bright orange-red color resembles a lobster and while some say that it has a slight seafood taste, I think it tastes more like a mushroom than any seafood I've ever tasted.  It also has more crunch than most mushrooms with a very firm texture.   It makes a very good mushroom soup.  In other dishes I prefer to saute' them in butter first.

There were too many to eat fresh so I am drying a few of them.

I spent most of the day Sunday making some beet pickles.  It's a process that takes about three hours and I'm glad that we only need a few pints of these per year.   By the time I am finished I seem to have pots and pans and lids and canning equipment everywhere!

This is one of my favorite begonias.  Summer glory.

There are blueberries to pick and it's time to check all of the garden veggies to see what needs to be harvested.  Green beans, zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes, broccoli, basil, onions, beets, and carrots.  It's a happy, busy summertime in the garden.

There are only two more days and the month of July will have whizzed by.    Enjoy!

 

They're back and ready to rock n' roll.

Adam Mitton and his crew returned Friday morning to finish our deck repair job.  This time with a four-man crew, Adam and son, Garrett, Derek, and Jake.  I'm telling you that they flew at it.

Retired Mountain Man and I were barely up and moving when they arrived.  It takes at least three cups of coffee before I consider moving very quickly.  Honestly, I no longer really move quickly at all.  We just watched in amazement as these guys worked.  Each one knowing what to do and anticipating what would come next.  It was just plain fun to watch and very much appreciated by the two of us.

We have needed a concrete pad underneath the bottom stairway off the north side deck since we built it (1982).  It has finally happened ---July 2019.  There's no reason to rush into things....

The crew had the stairway off and the new pad poured in no time.



It was another hot day and they were happy to be working in the shade.

Next, they tackled installing new stringers underneath the decking (36' across).  It is now rock solid and it won't matter how much snow has fallen on it in the winters to come because it's not going to collapse. 

Nice!

The last part of the project was an add-on, which was to replace one of the posts holding up the barn roof.  The concrete block underneath it had started to come apart.  We are getting a new post and the concrete block replaced.

By noon they were finished.  We are just waiting for the concrete to cure and the stairway will be in place.  I sure hope they got to enjoy the afternoon off.  Somewhere cool, like the lake.

We played music Friday night for the awards dinner for the Thistle National Regatta.   The Thistles are a racing boat with a three-man crew and most of the boats and the sailors came from the East coast.   It was a really warm evening but the crowd didn't seem to mind.  There were 244 of them and it was impressive to watch the waitresses and waiters at Trinity taking orders and serving salads, a main course and dessert in the span of about two hours.  Everyone was was having a good time.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/jul/28/sailboats-take-to-the-shores-of-lake-pend-oreille-/

We have a bit of a cool-down this weekend and it's time to get back to the garden.  There are blueberries to pick  and maybe some beets.

All in one day.

Yesterday our neighbor and building contractor, Adam Mitton, and his assistant, Jake, were here to repair our deck on the north side of the house.   I think it has been 38 years since the deck was built so it's understandable that the posts need to be replaced. 

All of the handrails would have to be removed and some of the decking.

The decking and siding looks like it needs another sealer and stain treatment.  I really don't want to think about that at the moment.  Ugh!

Jake, it turns out, is P.J. Allen's son.  P. J. and our son, David, were good friends in high school and both played on the football team.  He graduated from high school last year.  Adam and Jake were very efficient and worked really hard, as they barely took a break all day long.  When they stopped for lunch, they were back at it in twenty minutes - on a really hot day.

Retired Mountain Man ended up with a hammer in his hand.  Many years ago during the summer months he worked for Kenny Walraf, (also one of our neighbors) building houses.   

Adam and Jake had it all repaired and everything back in place by 4:00 p.m.  Amazing work.  They will be back on Thursday to finish by adding some concrete to the stairway off the deck and to replace another post on the barn.

My flower pot that was on the deck rail needed to be moved while the construction was happening.  I think I like it on the table.

A thunderstorm rolled through here around 10:30 last night and the wind was blowing so hard that I went out on the deck to set some of my planters off the handrails.  This morning everything seems to be okay.  In the past I've had them blown right off the deck onto the ground.   I'm so glad there is no damage. 

It seems we get to enjoy a cooler day and then we heat up again on Thursday. 

Summertime, summertime....

On July 23rd...

...some old photos and trips.

July 23, 2008, sunset.

On July 23, 2005 we hiked to Lake Estelle with our friends, Neil and Ann.  Retired Mountain Man and I have gone camping many times, but it was always car camping.  This time it was to be an overnight trip and we would hike to the lake, packing in only what we would need. 

The planning for the trip was intense.  How much weight could we each carry at our age?  What items were essential for an overnight trip and most important, the meal planning.  What if we didn't catch any fish?  Were we really fit enough to make this hike?

 After all of the planning and concerns about the trip, it actually seemed to be an easy hike.   We found a fairly level spot to camp, but I do remember that Retired Mountain Man and I had a difficult time sleeping through the night.  There always seemed to be a tree root or a rock jabbing us.  We caught plenty of fish to eat and they were very tasty. 

It was one of the many hikes with Neil and Ann, which included Mt. Pend Oreille, (a couple of times).  We would rent Lunch Peak Lookout at least once every summer and explore from in many directions from the lookout.  There was a hike on the Green Monarch's and last but not least, a bushwhack hike up Middle Mountain to Trail 120, which we look at every day from the north side of our house. 

Lake Estelle

Yesterday we drove up Lightning Creek to one of our favorite places on Wellington Creek near what used to be the Elk Camp.  As you can see the roads and trails are getting really overgrown with brush and trees.

We were looking for some of these....

Unfortunately, there weren't many and some of those that we did find were not ripe.  We did come home with about a pint and they will be fine in some hotcakes. 

Forest artwork

First zucchini.  It's time for Zucchini Patties, one of our favorites. 

A photo taken from Lunch Peak Lookout in 2008 using my old Olympus camera. 

The Nelson

 This is "The Nelson", our lawn tractor sprinkler.  It runs almost every day during the summer from June to September.  We have front and back lawns plus the gardens and flower beds.  It all needs water to thrive.  Retired Mountain Man is in charge of the watering schedule, deciding which locations need water and he does a great job of keeping everything green and lush.

Back in the days before 1991 our water came from a well, which did not have enough flow to keep a garden.  I would try to grow a vegetable garden, but we always ended up hauling water from a neighbor to keep the plants alive.  There was never enough water.

 Things changed in 1991.  We joined with our neighbor, Glen Ford, and installed a water line from Cougar Creek.  It was no small endeavor since the water intake was 4500 feet up the mountainside.  The water line had to be dug underneath the county road and also underneath our driveway in two locations.   There was also the issue of the water pressure in a gravity-flow line (130 lbs.) so pressure reduction valves needed to be installed in multiple locations.  Retired Mountain Man and our two sons, Jamie and David, worked long hours digging and laying the pipe for 6 weeks in what was often really rocky soil.  Both of our sons were working at other jobs and spent their days off and evenings helping.  Retired Mountain Man's father, who was in his 70's at the time, came from Missoula to help us.

Every day Retired Mountain Man would record how many feet of pipe had been installed.   On August 26, 1991, he cracked opened the valve at the water intake up on the mountainside and soon there was a trickle of water coming out of the hose in my garden.  The soil in the garden at the time was just a lot of dry dust.  I remember being out in my corn rows in my bare feet, holding the hose and watering my sweet corn.  Needless to say I was a very happy muddy mess!  I did not care.  We had water!  Lots of water.  An endless supply of water!

I kept the calendar. (Sorry, I didn't keep the copy of July)

Some of you might recognize this "band calendar" from Clark Fork High School.

This is happy Sweet Candy Corn.

Yes, it is wonderful to have our own water system and what seems like an endless supply of water and no monthly water bills, but there are some drawbacks.   The entire system needs to be monitored and maintained, especially throughout the summer months.   Some of the pipe is laying in the creek and we've had a moose step on the line twice and break it, plus several other leaks and pressure valve failures over the years.  All in all, it works really well and every time I see the Nelson at work I think of that August day.

This year the gardens are thriving.

Squash Row, protected from the deer.  Do they eat squash?  Probably.  I don't know, but I don't trust them.

I almost forgot.  The new door is finished.  I think I should have a sign on it somewhere that says, "Band Entrance", or maybe "Cougar Creek Band Entrance"?

As my daughter-in-law, Julie, pointed out, there have been a thousand loads of firewood go through this door and so many Cougar Creek Band rehearsals over the years, and last but not least, a wedding party.

What a lovely day that was.  I hope you are enjoying this one.

The first of their 4-H years.

I confess that I stole these photos from my cousin Tena's FB page.  Tena lives in Elyria, Nebraska, which is near where I grew up.  We stay in touch mainly through FB and we will be seeing each other soon at a family reunion in Denver.   Her grandchildren were at their first 4-H show at the county fair and you can see from the photos how proud and excited they were.    I am now a photo thief.

Meanwhile, back at the garden it has been harvest time all week long.   I have been working on getting veggies in the freezer and it is almost full.   I harvested 10 heads of cauliflower and I think they must have weighed about 20 pounds.  At least that's what it felt like as I carried them from the garden to the house.

The flowers are blooming their hearts out.

There are dahlias in this bed but the nasturtiums have taken over.  I need to prune some of them back to give the dahlias a chance.

Another week has gone by and it's Friday.  Time for more music at Trinity.   This is the view that the crowd sees while we're playing.   Since it's behind the band, we get to look at it during our breaks.   It's a pretty nice view looking across the lake. 

Happy Friday!