Saturday, October 06, 2007
Shrooms of October
Okay, you saw my first NJ fish.
Now it is time for my first NJ mushrooms.
We signed up for a mushroom foray for today at a local farm. What a pleasant surprise when we got there. Wonderful people, wonderful land. And a great “honor system” organic store where we bought some jam, tomato sauce, squash and onions. And, she had eggs and lettuce and…
But wait, before we go to the afternoon foray…
It was time to walk the dogs this morning. We walked toward Green Turtle Pond. The road is closed below our street for a while (what a pain), but that means no traffic for a while. As we walked in the “no car zone”, Lynne noticed a group of mushrooms growing on a tree a bit off the road.
I thought it was a Hen of the Woods and got pretty excited since that is a choice edible mushroom. But, after returning home and doing some research, it turned out to be a Chicken of the Woods—even better! Lynne went and took pictures. I went with a knife and brought it home.
It was 2 pounds of choice mushroom! (Which I am sure will end up on Lynne’s blog too.)
Okay, this mushroom is going to get washed, cut into strips and frozen. It will be great in a risotto, soups, etc. Since it “tastes like chicken”, you can use it anywhere you would chicken.
Now, to the afternoon. Our goal was Honey Mushrooms. Yum. And, we found some. Since it has been so hot and dry, there weren’t a lot, but this is the only time of year you see them, and we found enough to make some pickled mushrooms to serve on toast.
If we are here to post after eating them, we’ll let you know how they were 
Read or Post Comments (0, so far) • Permalink • eMail this article
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Good News, Bad News, Good News, Bad News
Last Saturday I walked down to Green Turtle Pond with my fishing gear to try my hand (once again) at catching an edible fish. When I got home I told Lynne I had “good news, bad news, good news and bad news”. Clearly confused she asked for the story.
The good news is that I saw lots of wildlife. On my way there and back I saw several groups of turkeys and a red fox.
The bad news is that I didn’t see or catch any fish.
The good news is that along the east side of the lake, where I was fishing, it is very wooded and lots of mushrooms were growing. (We like searching out wild mushrooms).
The bad news is that if you are walking along the trail with your head down looking at mushrooms, you might just walk up on a bear!
That is what I did. I was walking along a not-so-well-worn path with my head on a swivel looking down and side to side when I heard a “hummmffff” sound. I looked up and about 20 feet in front of me, coming toward me on the path was a fairly large black bear. My heart sunk into my stomach and I said some foul words. I stepped behind a tree to keep something between me and the bear. He just stood there hummmfffing at me for a couple of minutes and decided to pass me by going up the hill a ways. He took his time though, and I just kept sidestepping around the tree as he moved by. When the coast was clear, I came home to tell Lynne the news.
Read or Post Comments (1, so far) • (1) Trackbacks • Permalink • eMail this article
Monday, September 03, 2007
My First NJ Fish
I know I don’t post much. Most of what I have to say shows up on Lynne’s blog. Maybe I’ll beat her to this one. (But, she has the photo…)
I caught my first fish in New Jersey today. I got tired of trying every lure in the shop, hoping to snag a bass. About sunset we went to Green Turtle Pond and I tried a new lure some…actually hooked a medium sized fish—but lost it. Finally I went to the trusty worm-on-a-hook-with-a-bobber. Not really my favorite fishing technique, but I finally caught something! It was a sunfish, about 5” in length.
Now that I’ve lost my virginity, I’m on the hunt for bigger prey (and edible, too!)
Read or Post Comments (0, so far) • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink • eMail this article
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Question of the Week
Can anyone tell me why the Nasonex bee speaks with a Spanish accent?
Read or Post Comments (0, so far) • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink • eMail this article
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Fireworks
I heard the strangest story on the radio yesterday. It seems that it is illegal to sell or possess personal fireworks in New Jersey. So, the radio was reporting on the beginning of the Pennsylvania fireworks season where vendors located just across the border sell to New Jersians who buy personal fireworks there and then bring them back across the border. We had a similar situation in Colorado where many people went to Wyoming to buy fireworks that were illegal in Colorado. The difference is, it is actually illegal to sell personal fireworks to a Pennsylvanian resident in Pennsylvania! However, it is not illegal to sell fireworks to someone from out-of-state, thus the thriving business.
Read or Post Comments (1, so far) • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink • eMail this article
