SPRING!! Crocuses + Tussilago

 

Spring is life. And spring is FINALLY HERE!

Spring comes late to my part of Vermont. Especially this year since we've received the most snowfall in the country. Especially when you live in a valley inside a valley like I do. You know, where all the cold air goes to linger. 

But, at last, the snow is just beginning to recede from the yard and like a beacon of hope for many happy spring days to come, my crocuses have bloomed! Crocuses are my favorite spring flower. They are just such a cheerful spot of color in the groggy moments of a landscape awakening. 

I planted these crocus blubs last fall and it's awesome to see them popping up! I can't wait to plant more this year. 

Another sure sign of spring in Vermont is the emergence of tussilago, a wildflower also known as coltsfoot. I'll admit, I might have done a little happy dance when I first spotted these babies.

Like spring, Day Drunk is coming back with more travel stories, spring adventures, and other exciting tales!

Getting Rustic in Maine

I'm back from Maine, ya'll! And while it wasn't Burning Man (*cries*), it was still a fun little getaway. In fact, it was probably the opposite of Burning Man, what with the no electricity, people, parties, etc., we had going on.

AGP and I pretty much just wandered around the pond soaking in all the pre-fall niceties with a couple other Pond-ers. And we of course had a candlelit party or two.

One of the more exciting parts of the short week we were there was the MASSIVE yellow foot chanterelle patch we found while bushwhacking through an unexplored area of the forest. It was pretty jaw dropping to be surrounded by so many tasty mushrooms. I'll tell you more about my foraging adventures very soon!

We also took a sweet hike to the "Moss Forest", which as you can guess, is carpeted in moss. And considering we are in New England and not the Pacific Northwest, it's a pretty stunning sight.

After our pond sojourn we headed west to see the Goosepimp Orchestra and Apel play a small festival in Harmony, Maine. And despite the fact that the festival was pretty much empty of festival-goers, we had a good time getting private concerts and hanging around in abandoned campers. Yes, you heard that right. Eventually we escaped the fest for some nearby cabins and relaxed on the Kennebec River instead of staying to party enough lonely night! Such a good idea!

A Girl, Her Cat, and a Mushroom Hike

The breeze came rumbling, tumbling down Flood Brook through the forest. I slip-slide down the hill behind my house in wellies up to my knees. With a cry of excitement or alarm, Tina follows.

It is fall in Vermont. Late fall. The kind of fall that will give into winter in a couple of days. When my boots hit the water, I can feel the chill through my heavy socks.

The cat meows. Well, actually, Tina is always meowing. In fact, she may be the loudest cat in creation, but when you are hiking solo through the woods, it's nice to have a companion who "talks" back to you. Plus, she always has her eyes and ears on our surroundings while I splash through the water.

Down the brook to the south and then up the creek to the west- this is Burnt Meadow Brook, right in my own freaking backyard. Tina comes after me like a bullet, jumping from rock to rock as we crisscross lazily up the creek. 

I was just here yesterday, in fact, so was Tina. We are headed back to an incredible, mossy log that I found TOOTHED JELLY FUNGUS on. As an amateur, yet enthusiastic mushroom hunter, I was practically knocked off my feet when I first discovered these transparent mushrooms relaxing on this already magical log frosted with moss and cladonia lichen yesterday. Completely by accident. 

A little disappointingly, following a light frost the next morning, my perfectly clear fungus had a brownish tinge to their edges. But Tina and I still frolicked happily beneath their toothed caps like little elves. 

We are in Hapgood State Forest nestled within the Green Mountain National Forest. It is a forest thick with underbrush- young pine trees crowd each other for light, sticky blackberry brambles scratch the ankles, and the forest floor is often choked with tree blow downs from storms passed. It is also crisscrossed with lightly used paths, some off-season cross-country ski trails, and littered with interesting fungi of all kinds. We have already found enough chanterelles and hedgehog mushrooms on our side of the brook alone for several out-of-this-world dinners. Harvesting edible, wild mushrooms makes Zy a happy, happy girl. 

Also, I was playing with my macro filters, with Tina keeping a close and alert guard. 

The fungus with the BEST name... Witches' Butter (Tremella mesenterica)!Witches' Butter is actually a parasite of the fungus that digests moist wood, which is why you will most likely find it on dead and decaying tree limbs.

One tasty chanterelle, the Yellowfoot (Craterellus tubaeformis), grows ABUNDANTLY along our brooks. The season for them is just about over, but I look forward to reaping a hefty harvest next year!

And a lovely little Earth Tongue that I got down on my hands and knees for.

Eventually, we crossed the waters back towards home. Do you know how hard it is to capture a picture of a very fast cat jumping through the air? Whatever, I couldn't do it.

And then, through the hemlocks, the most wonderful place on Earth, my home.