December 26, 2023 The Red-Shouldered Hawk and a few Mushrooms

Trichaptum. Underside of Purplepore bracket.

We went out to the farm to have a look about, check the new trail cam and see if the red-shouldered hawk was still there. We also checked in with the shed. It was still dry. We walked down Beech Trail and saw no sign at all of the hawk we’d found dead there on Christmas Eve. We decided an animal probably carried it away. We continued our walk and met South Trail. We found a few beautiful mushrooms. Jelly wood ears and Purplepore bracket fungus.

Top of the Purplepore bracket fungus

We walked down to the water way and saw clear water and pretty mosses, ferns and lichen. We saw the single purple leaf of Cranefly orchids all over. Clusters and singles. We thought we saw strawberries off South Trail.

Turning the trail camera on. 😀

We walked up North Trail and stopped to check the new camera. We forgot to turn it on! Next time we go out we will see if there’s been any animal activity. Back in the clearing, we looked for mushrooms and made plans for trees and our building. Chris walked towards the truck and I was near the shed and a hawk with similar coloring came flying from Beech Trail where the hawk was found on Christmas Eve. It landed in the trees and called out. Piercing, loud, mournful and beautiful, the hawk called to us and then swooped out of the tree and flew towards us and off.

Accidental pocket video of the sounds of the hawk and our reactions. 😄 It calls out 7 times. We believe it was mourning the dead hawk and knew we were mourning the loss as well. As it flew away, it swooped near us.

We were impressed by this hawk’s presence and attempt to communicate. We will always remember this encounter.

Little birds flitting about in the trees while we worked on the shed.

Wood ear fungi

Wood ear fungi found at SAFF on East Trail near waterway

December 22, 2023 A New Trail Camera

A new camera to capture pictures of any wildlife that happens by.

A moss and lichen covered rock with quartz and more.

A close up of the rock.

December 21,2023 Inoculating poplar logs with Hericium erinaceus and a walk around SAFF

Poplar logs inoculated with Lion’s mane spores.

Neofavolus alveolaris, Hexagonal polypore, saprobic. Found near the stumpery just south of the clearing.

Tops of Neofavolus alveolaris. They were a bright orange.

Underneath the stumpery pile, an animal has dug a hole or tunnel. We found several other spots like this today. We received our new trail camera and will set it up tomorrow we hope.

We went to the farm today to inoculate more poplar logs with Lion’s mane mushroom spores. Once finished, we took a short walk around and found a few mushrooms. We found a polypore and a common Laccaria. These were new mushrooms found at SAFF.

Common Laccaria tops. One young specimen and one older.

White gills, orange concave cap,long brown stipe. Found growing out of leaf litter in mixed forest. We found a few singles of these as well as a cluster near the driveway and gate up front.

December 18, 2023 Saint Andrew’s Forest Farm after Heavy Rains

On Saturday night and all day Sunday, Buckingham got 1.7 inches of rain from a storm that moved through from Florida and the Carolinas and continued up the East Coast. We were excited to go out and see if the shed remained water-tight throughout the storm. We also wanted to see water levels in the waterways and wet weather gullies and look for mushroom development.

The view from the top of the slope.

We saw this den which could be where a fox or coyote would live, or perhaps a smaller creature, or even a three year old male bear. We ordered a new camera last night to take photos of any movement so we can know who may live here. Here are sounds from a bear den. https://ktwh.org/sounds-from-a-bear-den-shared-on-ktwh/

We found this hole near the bottom waterway which was dripping and water was flowing down. Sound on for tinkling water noises. 💦

It was cold yesterday so we wore our orange shirts over all of our clothes and coats to be sure to be seen by hunters; although, we did not hear any shots fired or dogs hunting. We have avoided this South border since hunting season began. It was a treat to walk it. We were amazed to see how much water flowed at the bottom waterway and along the sides. We have never seen it so full and wet. The ferns, lichen and moss were glowing with brighter greens. The water was clear and trickling came from everywhere.

Looking at our camp from the forest.

These tiny saprotrophic mushrooms covered the forest floor. If we looked close enough, we found them everywhere up top in the woods. There were thousands. We can’t wait until next week to see what other, larger mushrooms emerge from the rains.

At bottom of slope looking up we saw areas where pines have dropped their needles. We began to plan this spot as one area we want to clear of the thousand of sticklike tulip poplars in order to plant an orchard of paw paws, other fruits and nut trees. Just behind us, we are standing 20 feet from the bottom waterway/stream. We may apply to the https://www.jamesriverbuffers.org/ for help planting the area. We are determining our eligibility for this program. “The James River Association and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation are working with landowners across the Middle and Upper James River watersheds to restore or create forest buffers that improve the quality of local waterways.” We are checking into it and are excited to find out more.

Chris on the North Trail taking down a diseased tulip poplar. The tulip poplar overwhelm areas in the forest if left unchecked. Maples also appear to be invasive where we find them.

We were so glad we went over and grateful to know the camp remained dry in that windy and heavy downpour. We hadn’t yet imagined building a fire at SAFF even in our clearing because of the drought. This rain really replenished the moisture of the earth. The ground’s thirst appears quenched for now. It was a beautiful afternoon to visit Saint Andrew’s Forest Farm and have a walk around.

Growing Lion’s Mane Mushrooms at home and in the food forest

The very first Lion’s Mane mushroom we grew at home from a kit.

We started growing shiitake mushrooms about nine years ago after buying a couple of already inoculated logs at the farmer’s market in downtown Staunton. It was nice to have these mushrooms and it was a great first experience to grow our own at home. More recently, we became interested in growing Lion’s Mane mushrooms after reading about the health benefits and the taste. https://www.forbes.com/health/body/health-benefits-of-lions-mane/. We were so glad we did as they are delicious. The taste mimics crab, scallops or lobster. We sauté on high heat in a dry pan for 10 minutes then add olive oil salt pepper and garlic. Then we eat it on its own or with salads. We have heard they make great “crab” cakes. We will try this soon.

This Root Mushroom Farm grow kit was great. It came full of mycelium and ready to grow. We were so successful with it, we ordered plugs inoculated with Lion’s mane, Hericium erinaceous. Weeks ago, we cut down a beech tree from the farm and we aged the logs a few days. Then we drilled holes for the plugs.

The inoculated plugs and beeswax bars for growing our Lion’s mane on beech logs at home and Saint Andrew’s Forest Farm.

Drilling the holes for the plugs.

We filled the holes in with our inoculated plug and then put warm beeswax to seal it in and keep moisture. Now we wait for the mushrooms to grow!

We are going to also inoculate logs at the farm to continue to diversify the already thriving mycelium in our soil.

We are heading back out to the farm later today to inoculate some of our hardwood logs.

Lion’s mane mushroom and spinach salad with walnuts and Dijon vinaigrette

Our supplies needed to drill holes and inoculate the logs at the farm.

We built a simple stand for tulip poplar logs in the forest at the farm and are inoculating them with Lion’s mane spawn plugs. We hope to add Hericium erinacious to our home grown mushrooms. They are native to Virginia.

December 16, 2023 A walk around the woods and Continuing to Weather-proof our Camp

We have sealed up the shed very nicely and quickly before the big rain expected to bring heavy downpours.

We can’t wait to camp. Chris built our compost toilet and bed for our campsite. We will cover this in a post with more details. We will insulate the inside and add wall board before bringing out the toilet and bed.

We have solar lights and think we will stay warm and safe in our little campsite.

Looking for truffles at the base of an oak. 😄

Tremella mesenterica, commonly called Witches butter. A fun find long the edge of the clearing up top. An edible jelly fungus which is said to have medicinal benefits and it can be added to soup. We have not tried this! The texture does not look scrummy at all, but it was beautiful to look at.

Cut-leaf grape fern. It has a michorizal relationship with the soil.

Fern moss along the trails all around Saint Andrew’s Forest Farm.

Foraging and Cooking with wild edible mushrooms from Saint Andrew’s Forest Farm

We found quite a few Lactarius indigo or Indigo Milkcap mushrooms during the summer and early fall of 2023.

They were so pretty and just amazed us each time we saw them. They are michorizal with a number of deciduous and coniferous trees including pine and oak. We found them in a number of places. Up top along the driveway, along South Trail and in the forest in multiple locations.

We’ve learned to cook our wild mushrooms very well on high heat (7ish) for 20 minutes. We start cooking them in a dry already hot skillet. After 10 minutes, we add some olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

While they cooked they smelled a little bit of fish. Once cooked, this wasn’t detectable in smell or taste. We used these to top our pizza pie.

December 2, 2023 Shed building and a walk around Saint Andrews Forest Farm

For weeks, we have been building our shed. It will be our camp until we have more structures. We are pleased with how it has come together. The doors and windows are on and roof is sealed with a protective membrane. Yesterday, we added drip edge to seal down the roof membrane. As we worked, we heard the woodpecker in the forest laughing. We still have lots of details, trim and the metal roof to put on the shed but are pleased with the progress and could begin to use it as a camp soon. We were prepared for this weekend but our plans were rained out so we are going to use the extra time to get the inside insulated and fitted out a bit.

Sea foam in the woods? It’s Reindeer Lichen, Cladonia rangiferina found throughout the forest. This was near the bottom slope by the waterway in a cluster.

Moss

Yellow stalked puffball found in clearing

Several clusters of the yellow stalked puffball found near several old Earthstars. We have seen them along South Trail as well during the summer after rain. They are michorizal with Oak.

Cranefly Orchid leaves. We see clusters of these throughout SAFF. The corms are edible although we have not tried them yet. The flowers in the summertime are delicate and abundantly spread throughout the forest.

May be Corticoid sp. Further observation necessary.

Lichen and fungus

We’re finding interesting mushrooms and plants on our walks through the forest. Yesterday, we started our trail from front off of the driveway and walked down along the waterway and connected to South Trail. We passed by Chanterelle Trail, not wanting to disturb the fox family and headed to the bottom trail. We followed our trail around to where SAFF meets the back road and walked along our side of the property line. We passed through where we saw the black bear months back and saw no evidence of him. We have found trees in multiple spots with bark scratched pecked or bitten off.

This could be black bear or woodpecker. Most likely not deer. We have ruled out porcupine because they aren’t found in Virginia anymore. The trees with the removed bark are all dead conifers. Something is trying to get to the bugs underneath or maybe eat the bark, we wonder. …

It has been dry in Virginia. We’ve had forest fires in the National Forest and a month long drought. Hunting season is in full swing. We are careful to always wear blaze orange shirts. We hear rifles and shotguns and dogs. This weekend we finally got a good long soaking rain. This was a great relief.

November 5, 2023- Shed floor joists and a walk through the woods

Chris busily working on the foundation and floor joists of the shed.

The weather has gotten cooler and the woods have changed. Unless we’re in a piny spot with lots of needles softening and muting our steps, we hear a cacophony of leaves crunching. My grandmother would say we sound like a herd of buffalo. We are happy to be loud in order to alert the bear we are coming through and to also alert hunters. We’re always wearing our bright orange shirts as well.

We’ve explored new areas of the forest and expanded our trails each time we’ve gone out. We found new water spots and some new trees. Right now, the beech trees still have coppery leaves hanging on and are easily visible everywhere. We have an enormous beech by the south bottom near the waterway.

We can’t wait to get the shed built so we can camp out over there. In the end, the shed will be a bathroom and shower but, for this winter, Chris and I will use it as a camping space.

We hope to camp out sometime soon. We are insulating the floors next.

Most recent fox den picture. The paw prints all over the dirt are adorable. 🐾

We saw the fox den has been significantly expanded. We must have first spotted it when they began digging. The area looks enormous now. They’ve been working hard for their little family. We are keeping our distance from the den. With all of the construction going on, it is easy to spot and avoid. Usually they are multi chambered with multiple entrances and exits.

Red Spruce just identified

Chris 10/10 on the first go. 🎉

The sunset was fiery bright red as we drove back to Staunton with the mower.

October 29, 2023 Connecting Chanterelle Trail and a Fox Den

We planted our first cover crop last week of crimson clover and winter rye on almost an acre and then topped it with straw bales to hold moisture. When we arrived today, we mowed and picked up trash along the road.

The fall foliage really peaked in Staunton this weekend but over the mountains at Saint Andrew’s Forest Farm, the colors were a little more muted with lots of green. Walking through the forest was noisy with the leaves crunching underfoot.

We decided to work on connecting Chanterelle Trail from the North Trail towards the South Trail. We had to cut back through hundreds of small, diseased and dying trees. Many tulip poplar, maples, dogwoods and some pine. We worked our way up and then tied my orange shirt to a tree limb and walked back around from the South Trail to Chanterelle Trail. We were only 15 or 20 yards away! It was here we found a fox den with tracks all around it.

The old end of Chanterelle Trail where we connected it yesterday. My orange shirt is tied to a limb to the left of center.

From trail, this is what we saw. When we got in closer, we saw a tunnel.

We think it’s a fox den and we’ve seen a red fox a few times in the area

Fall SAFF 2023

Bonus maple 🍁 from our front yard in Staunton