A slower time, a time of contemplation on the Joanne Ruoff Memorial Nature Trail

For us, it's a slower time of year.  The woodlands are clothed in a heavy cloak of warmth.  The forest floor is dry and crackly.  We're anxiously awaiting a summer rain to bring forth the fungi that we know are cocooned in the duff until moisture awakens the mycellium.  Sometimes the 4th of July startles the land with a heavy dousing of rain; sometimes the rains come on my birthday later in July.  But, not this year.  As always, the life-bestowing rains will come when it suits them.

In the meantime, the all-encompassing blanket of fog that has settled into Port Orford now and then over the past several weeks gave us hope that we'll soon find the first of the lobster mushrooms.  And, on the 4th of July we found our first lobster, nestled in amongst the invasive Scotch Broom on the edge of the newly dedicated Joanne Ruoff Memorial Nature Trail.  

Both Steven and I are committed to the goals of The Port Orford Watershed Council and eagerly embraced their project to renovate the City of Port Orford's old Nature Trail as a way of celebrating Joanne Ruoff, who was an active member of the Council for many years.   One of Joanne’s long-time goals was to enhance and extend the network of nature trails in our area, and her colleagues on the Port Orford Watershed Council shared that goal. 

The month of June found the Council removing years of fallen branches and other debris from trail area, creating and publishing a tri-fold brochure as a interpretative guide to the trail, setting up markers along the route, and enhancing the amenities of the location.  One of the Council members created a trail map, and another wrote a poem celebrating Joanne and her many contributions to the area.

The City of Port Orford Parks Commission supported the project, too, and on July 4th, Joanne's goal of enhancing our trail system became a reality, as the existing and formerly neglected Nature Trail in Buffington Memorial Park was dedicated and opened in her honor.

The Joanne Ruoff Memorial Nature Trail, located on Lakeside Drive on the west side of Buffington Park, is a beautiful interpretive walk through a mature coastal temperate rainforest, with much to see.  Suitable for all ages, this trail is a worthy addition to the many amenities Port Orford offers its residents and visitors, and is suitable for all ages. 

This is a very special sanctuary designed to welcome all who sojourn in the remote area known as the Wild Rivers Coast.  Already the Joanne Ruoff Memorial Nature Trail has offered a lobster mushroom in appreciation of our efforts, and we'll be monitoring the trail over the years to come for other mushrooms.   We're not anticipating spring fungi, but in the fall, surely mushrooms will fruit in abundance, offering a tempting feast to humans and animals alike.  We won't be surprised to find edible varieties such as Golden Chanterelles, Black Trumpets, Yellow Feet, Corals, Hedgehogs, Boletes, and Russulas hiding in the duff.  There are bound to be saprotrophic Oysters clinging to dead and dying trees, and perhaps some fungi that will stump the identifiers.

Regardless of whether there are mushrooms or not, our spirit will be rejuvenated along the trail, for it offers opportunities for contemplation, serenity and appreciation of nature.  Here, in this seemingly untouched plot of earth, we can be bathed in the wonders of the natural world and rewarded with an inner peace and joy.  And, maybe, just maybe that is what mushrooming is really all about.

 

A resident deer examines the newly crafted sign.