Mad about Mushrooms . . .

August 2008's Menu: French Style Mushroom Picnic Pie and a Volkswalk

It's August and time for picnics!  We're headed out to historical Cape Blanco State Park for a picnic and a volkswalk.  Won't you join us?

Go away kittie! Bobcats are not invited to our picnic!

Lobster Mushrooms & Golden Chanterelles Sighted in July!

First fall mushrooms sighted!

A return to cool, foggy weather resulted in the first reported discovery of fall mushrooms last week (week of 7/18/08) in Bandon, a half hour drive north of our home base.  Some very small, almost dehydrated golden chanterelles, and some small lobster mushrooms were seen right in town.  Meanwhile, it’s been closer to normal summer weather here in Port Orford, and our guess is that it will be another week or so before we see any here.  Will keep you posted!

Fungal Photograph from ... Florida?

Taylor Lockwood, who in our book holds the title of “best mushroom photographer on the planet,” got in touch recently from his new digs in Florida.  When he told us of his plans to move there several months ago, we were really puzzled.  Florida is hardly a state that comes to mind when one thinks of mushrooms.  There were some unique varieties of fungi down there, he told us, and he was going to check it out.  Well, we have just seen one of the first photos from there, and must admit that we’ve never seen anything quite like it – which is also true of Taylor’s work in general.  Check it out at www.kingdomoffungi.com.

Ciccarelli's Restaurant

Steven and I don't often spend the night in Coos Bay/North Bend area.  After all, it's only an hour and a half drive north from where we live in Port Orford.  In fact, come to think of it, I can't recall a time that we've ever done it.  But, I'd registered for a negotiation and mediation workshop sponsored by the University of Oregon's Luke Center recently and with the session starting at 8:00 a.m., staying in Coos Bay the night before just seemed like the right thing to do.

We arrived in Coos Bay mid afternoon on the day before the workshop and decided to explore unfamiliar territory, driving up the Coquille and other byways before stopping for a snack when we arrived in Coos Bay.