[A reminder: If you receive Silverback Digest via email, and you read it as an email, you are receiving a less-than-optimal experience. If, instead you click on the headline you will be transported to website where you will be treated to full visuals. Today’s featured image is of a fungi (not “fun guy”) called “dead man’s fingers.” It’s not difficult to realize where that name came from!
Silverbelle Margaret grew up on a local dairy farm, and is expert is all things delicious, healthy, and Vermont. Her work appears frequently in our local newspaper, the White River Valley Herald. SB SM]
“Autumn in Vermont is one of my favorite times of the year. The nights are cool for sleeping and the days are pleasantly warm for just about any outside activity the mind can conjure up.
A walk in the woods has a way of calling our souls, luring us away from work that can surely be put off for another day. Making a justified escape; my husband Stuart, Ruby, and I pile into the truck; drive over a series of dirt roads, and head for a backcountry trail that we’ve hiked at least a hundred times. Only once have we ever met another human, which is how we like it. Ruby, our rescue dog knows exactly where we are going and starts to anxiously whine as the truck approaches our parking spot.
The backpack is stashed with the essentials and most importantly a paper bag and a knife just in case we should find some edible mushrooms. I’m always on the lookout for something to eat.
Once out of the truck, Ruby is overtaken by a banquet of mesmerizing smells.
The witch hazel tree near where we are parked is the first old friend I check in with. Being a late bloomer the buds are swollen and still tight. From the looks of the buds, it should be a showy October.
The woods are beautiful today as the sun casts shadows through the trees. An occasional maple tree branch has turned a brilliant orange and the hobblebush leaves are splashed with purple. The mature forest has pockets of hardwood and softwood trees.
What our senses take in visually Ruby gathers by olfaction. She undoubtedly has a better overall picture than us with far more information. She’s the only dog we have ever had that is always taking up the rear hooked on smell after smell. If I knew how to train her she could sniff out the species of mushrooms I’m looking for. Now that’s a thought.
Fruiting on a large mound of disturbed dirt left by recent logging, we discover a large colony of magical Orange Peel Fungus.
These are edible but are said to lack flavor so we admire their beauty and pass by.
The woods are enchanted with mushrooms today; one after another; colony after colony. How I love walking through the woods in Autumn.
We arrive back at the truck with an empty paper bag but that’s okay as time spent in nature is the true treasure of the day.”
