Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Berries, Mushrooms & Salmon

Hello again! Yup, still visiting Gramma (at least in Blogger-land)... Today we went out for a hike, which was beary nice. That sign is beary true. Gramma says every year, people need to be rescued from this creek.

It's beary beautiful... and Mama has been coming here since she was knee-high to a grasshopper!

It does look kind of temping for swimming...

But I'll just pose on the rocks.

The water looks so cool and refreshing...

But I think I saw something in that lower pool... did you see it?

I definitely see some shapes in the water! Long torpedo shapes!

Salmon!!! The salmon are here! Ooohhh... can we catch some???  Apparently not... cause no one remembered to bring some string and a safety pin. Sigh... oh, and it's a park. Phooie!

Oh well... so we went for a hike. Gramma is a little slower...

But someone carved a beautiful seat perfect for little bears.

While we're waiting... I looked for some berries. These are bunchberries... not palatable.

These are red huckleberries... not quite ripe. Like blueberries except... red.

Also some kinnikinnick... Also known as... Bearberry!!! Heh-heh... it makes an excellent groundcover.

And here's some false solomon's seal, also not edible. Ah well...

Oh! Some mushrooms!!! They sure are pretty...

Gramma took a look and they had gills and were kind on non-descript... so we left them behind.

But this one... this one is a super-choice, prized mushroom!! The King Bolete... It is pretty easy to identify. It has a spongy underside to the cap and the whitish stem has a basal swelling. Do NOT eat mushrooms if you don't know for sure... fur shure... what they are. There are a few poisonous boletes out there...

We also found some little yellow spongy capped ones... We picked them but they were meh to eat.

This one is a Rusula that is covered with a parasitic fungus which makes the inedible rusula edible... called lobster mushroom. Some people love them but Gramma is not into fishy mushrooms.

Ah-hah... see... spongy cap, swelling at the base. It's a King Bolete but...

It was quite old and full of worms...

Finally... a view!!!

And then down the other side, at the head of the canyon...

If I was a braver bear I might try white-water rafting in a tupperware container down here but... I'm not that brave (or crazy!).

Oh... what have we here...

Mmm....hmmm... do you see? Classic King Bolete shape and it's a young-un...

Beautiful spongy underside and best of all... no worms!! This one is a keeper!

And... because it was right next to the path... we popped a little piece of moss onto the cut-off base. Mushroom pickers have to hide their footprints, you know!

To round it all off... Mama promised me a bear cave!

Oooohhh... do you think there is a bear in there???

Well... I guess if I go in there... it will be a bear cave! It's not beary deep... Mama says it's from the olden days when miners were digging holes around here. What a great outing!

14 comments:

  1. I didn't know you were such an herbalist Sandy! Very valuable survival skill. How did you learn so much?...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well... Gramma is quite an herbalist and she's been teaching Mama stuff for a long time. And Mama used to work in the woods so she picked up quite a bit about plants out there.

      Delete
  2. Good questions droopy, how did you learn about all the berries and mushrooms? I know that it can be tricky finding edible mushrooms so we usually stay away from those but I am always game for new berries. Our Huckleberries are done for the year but they were delicious.

    You know, if the salmon are swimming in the park maybe you can follow the river to the boundaries of the park and maybe try your luck at fishing just outside of the park boundaries.

    I have to ask, any back alley deals with Grandma this trip?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I picked up everything I know from Mama! And Gramma... They have a list of about a dozen edible mushrooms that grow up there. They are pretty easy to identify if you know what you are looking for. Mystery mushrooms are out though!

      That is an excellent idea about the salmon! Mama says I'd also need a fishing license... but I don't think bears need those. Hmph!

      Back alley deals... mmm... nope. Not this trip!

      Delete
    2. Bears don't need fishing licenses, the law that designates bears to be fishing license free is buried in some big law book in Ottawa.

      Delete
    3. I am making a note of that. Too bad you don't have the Statute for that one... But I think if I say that even Little Fox knows about it, Mama will buy it!

      Delete
  3. What a great hike! Some fried mushrooms with onion sure does sound delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sandy, you can write a mushroom field guide! Those were some beary BIG mushrooms you found. I need to practice my mushroom and outdoor field skills... as a bear, that is a little emBEARassing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I probably could, couldn't I? I have about 15 edible mushrooms that I know by heart. Anything that is not those 15 gets ignored... except for photo ops of course. Have you heard of the bleeding mushroom?

      Delete
  5. Sandy you are a beary good nature guide. I am so glad you kept your wits about you and didn't give in to the rafting temptation. I'm certain we would never see you again. A Tupperware boat is just not adequate for a bear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. More like "Tip"perware...likely to tip over!

      Delete
    2. @Buttons - Thanks! I too am glad I didn't give in to the idea of an adrenaline rush. I'm not sure I would have come out the other end of the canyon in beary good condition... if at all!

      @Droopy - Tipperware!!! I like that!!

      Delete
  6. the #peejayday edishun it out! http://ht.ly/RxMQp
    your in it!

    ReplyDelete