Which path would you take?

I don’t think I make a conscious decision between the hard path or the easy but instead which is more appropriate. Actually, I would choose the one that seems more interesting – you see, I like to smell the roses (the petals are delicious too). This doesn’t imply meaningless dreamy wandering, though it has a place, rather appreciable complexities can be found in almost anything. Cable television is one of the few things I can think of lacking in appreciable complexity – unless, of course, your interested in memes and similar studies.

The point?

My blog has not seen a post in about a year. Not through a lack of interest though. In the past year I have found many more species of mushroom (hundreds?) and have greatly improved my ability to identify species. I really enjoy not only finding fungi’s but also observing and analyzing the immediate area’s flora, soil, moisture, elevation, etc… then record these findings and try to draw some conclusions. This requires a lot of time and effort and since it’s only a personal pursuit the time I can spend on it is limited.

Of the time I have, my first intent is to spend time in the woods. Organising and sharing any data collected has to be secondary. The recording-organising-publishing process requires a lot of time so over the past year I’ve been working with different technologies (GIS, databases, etc…) in an attempt to streamline. I’ve made good progress and should soon have something that will satisfy my needs. I’m not going into any details today because I would like to bring it to an initial point from my own vision. I’m using all open source software and whatever I produce will follow the same principals. Once the first version is out I’m happy with any criticisms and, hopefully, collaboration – if anyone finds it interesting and useful that is.

As much as I loved the Comox Valley, I had to move. I’m now in Victoria BC and though it offers more opportunities for employment and such getting out into the woods requires a little more effort. In Cumberland the forest edge was about 200 m from my home. Now the closest area, Thetis Lake, is about 6 km and my preferred area, Matheson Lake, is about 30 km away. I only use a bicycle for transportation so no quick jaunts in the evening except to Thetis. I think this will work out fine. Since I can only make a trip once (and sometimes twice) a week I will spend more time developing the data on my computer. Maybe make some money too, I could use a GPS receiver and some new tyres.

There are many other cool areas I’ll explore later in the spring and beyond like Sooke and Leechtown. Check out http://www.gallopinggoosetrail.com for some southern Vancouver Island biking info. I have some other great links but will post them at another time.

jt

Spring has Sprung!

well, close enough for me anyway.

I’ve only ever found one morel about 8 years ago, it was dried up and had been growing through some moss in a dank cedar forest just a few hundred yards from the salt chuck on Galiano Island off the west coast of Canada – a place I lived for a while. I had never seen anything like it and was totally intrigued by the pattern of the cap. It wasn’t until 2 or 3 years later I found out it was one of the most delicious mushrooms a person could find. I still have it on a shelf with a bunch of other odd foundlings – yeah, I’m a bit of a bird. I take all the interesting things I find on the ground back to my nest.

Mosses are beginning to fruit, skunk cabbages are starting to flower and I’m now scouting locations for the spring morel hunt – my first. Clear cuts from this and the past couple years, a few areas that were burned in the past 5 – 10 years as well as a couple very old apple orchards. These are the areas I will specifically look for morels but hiking to and between them will take me through ecotopes (if I’m using the term correctly) ranging from swamp to rain forest to fir and hemlock forest to semi-arid spots. Where ever I am I’ll be looking to see what’s there.

I’ve asked a few of the long time residents about morels in the region as well as searched online resources provided by local naturalist and mycology organisations, universities as well as the provincial and federal government. I now have massive amounts of information, both academic and anecdotal, about hundreds of species of fungi but very little about morels. I know they are here, the photo above is my lucky find from a region with similar climate and is only 150 km southwest of my home.

This post is my spring ice breaker and I’ll post more soon. There are still have quite a few species of mushrooms I found last fall that need to be put up and they’re coming soon.

jt

Gold!

It was a beautiful day Sunday for a hike. Overcast, but not raining, and mild in the morning and early afternoon. I stayed in bed until after 2pm and went for a hike in the late afternoon. This, of course, is when it started raining. LOL! No matter, I like the rain, the sound of it and the colours it brings out. The first pic below is what was a dry creek bed about a week ago.

Because of my late start I was limited to about an hour and a half in the woods. I felt a little time pressured so I went quickly through a couple of areas looking for signs. I generally have no concept of time when hiking (or any other time for that) but when I get home from a satisfying hike it seems 3-4 hours have passed. Not saying Sunday was unsatisfying! Quite the opposite actually. I found chanterelles in two spots I haven’t seen them before and one area I’ve been watching for the past month has gone into a full bloom! As usual the mushrooms de jour are put into their proper(ish) categories. I still have a lot of unidentified shroom I would appreciate any input on.

My posts thus far have been fairly chanterelle heavy – they’re exciting to find and delicious to eat – but I’m trying to find as many species of fungus as I can. Once I get a new lens I’ll start posting bird pics too. The second pic is of a few nice mushrooms I harvested. They were very wet so I let them sit out for a while on paper to help evaporate some of the excess water. I’m going to dry fry these up a little later today (a long with whatever I take today) and make them into a kind of chanterelle, corn and potato chowder. The colour in the pic is true to the mushrooms, though a tad saturated, and they have an amazing buttery smell that fills the room.

The third pic is “Two and a Juice”. Yet another Cumberland communty forest trail. Anyone looking for an awesome and inexpesive outdoorsy vacation should check out the Comox Valley. Lakes, rivers, ocean, mountains and glaciers with what has to be a world class trail system for hiking and bicycling. I think many of the are suitable for wheelchairs too. I can get information on this if any express an interest.

If you visit here, the “Mountain Bike Trail Map, Cumberland, BC” is a must have. From the front page of the map (excerpted without permission)…

“The roots go deep into the coal mines that run underneath this ‘Villiage of the Forest’ Some of the finest coal in the British Empire was discovered here in the 19th century. The mines brought men from China, Japan, USA, Central Europe, Britan and Italy to settle this booming little town. Railways were built connecting the port at Union Bay all the way up through Cumberland to the head of Comox Lake. Many decades later, the forest has grown up again covering most of the evidence of these once prosperous industries.

In the early 1990’s the first mountian bike trails were built by a group of the local mountain bikers on the foundation of these forgotten roads and railway beds. Special thanks go to all the trial builders.”

It’s currently clear out but we are encircled by thick black clouds. I’m going to go for a hike so I can get out when it’s dry and will try to go on another later with my brother in law and nephew.

jt.

btw… the pics from Sunday (below and some in the mushroom categories) are again low quality due to rain and low light. Most were hand held 1 second exposures. I have a little tripod but I like to keep it out of the mud.

 

Lots of mushrooms

Little bunches like these we’re scattered around an area I had a feeling about for the past month. Found only a couple over that time but there were 5 or 6 little bunches like bleow in a 10 metre square. It’s not as dark as the second pic implies – an effect of the flash.  The first pic is nearly soup ;)

  

More salmon coral

Ramaria formosa

A little salmon coral between some roots. Nice mix of colour and texture – are the little red shoots part of the moss or something else?