Autumn Mushrooms

These LBMs (Little Brown Mushrooms are best left alone
 and not eaten

The drought is over and the warm Autumn rains have produced a heap of mushrooms.  The bottom picture is edible. It is the first edible mushroom we have had from our land in the whole 27 years we have been here!

How do you tell an edible mushroom?
1) its pink to brown underneath.  they are pink when they first pop up and get darker to almost black with age
2) The stalk breaks away cleanly and easily from the "hat"

These little cuties with a nipple on top are pretty but being
 white underneath (see middle mushroom Ed picked) I would
 not eat them.

3) when you crush the stalk and cut the cap in half it NEVER turns yellow.  It may go reddish brown that is OK But sulphur yellow is a no no.
4) the top layer is probably scaly and peels off easily
5) they should smell of mushrooms and not a horrible chemical smell.  Put them in a plastic bag for a few minutes and then you can easily smell them.  I did this and decided that ours didn't smell very nice but they actually turned out OK.

DO NOT EAT if in doubt.  Some mushrooms can really fuck your liver and kill you over several days - not worth it.

These plain white ones look pristine and beautiful but I 

suspect they are death caps - again they are white underneath

But these are some sort of fiels mushroom and

 are edible (else Ed and I would be ill as 

we had them for tea the last couple of nights) 

well to tell the truth Ed ate then the first night 

as I was too chicken but he was fine so 

I had them as well the next night.

Our harvest on the bench.

Basket Fungus is a fascinating one and have been plentiful this year

Piwakawaka on ANZAC Day

Piwakawaka (Fantail) came into the lounge today.  Maori regard it as a bad omen portending a death. I certainly hope it’s not that! I don’t think so or I wouldn't have any friends or relatives left.

 Actually, it’s an annual event for us.  In the autumn, when it's turning a cooler, I think the insects die out a bit and food becomes scarcer. Piwakawaka know that where we humans go, we disturb small flying things, and there lies a feast.  I believe they partly come inside to see what we humans are up to on perchance of meal. On the other hand, maybe they see the house as a cave; I expect there is plenty for a fantail to eat in a cave.

These cute little things do not fly in and crash about like most birds do; stunning themselves on the window, until I have to cover them with a towel to calm them, and put them outside.   They spend some time inside- maybe a half hour or so.One year an aggressive piwakawaka defended his territory against that alien bird in my mirror above the fireplace.  Frightened he would knock himself out as he charged and bashed into the mirror at breakneck speed, I resorted to covering it with a sheet while he was inside. Ed has even seen one flit outside, do a dropping and come back inside. They perch on the light chord and scan the room. They flash towards a certain point, flutter into a long loop and swoop back onto the chord. They seem to be hunting as happily as if they were in the bush.

He is a welcome guest in my house.

ANZAC Day

Look at Ed all dressed up to go and play at the ANZAC service. Well done you even if you do only go cos you’re in the band.  I don’t go, I'm not sure why.  I remember poppy day parades from my childhood, I thought they were totally boring and full of doddery old people who lived and fought in the war. Of course, when I was thinking this, it was only about 15 years after the war and these geriatrics were actually my parents’ generation. Oh the fickleness of youth. Anyway, I don't feel much affiliation with ANZAC's and Gallipoli.  They did not feature in the war my family fought, and under which shadow I grew up. Living in England I only heard about the German/British side of the war, so I feel remote from The New Zealand stories.

Not that I was interested in the war much anyway.  I do remember watching a TV programme on Auschwitz when I was about 11. It was the first time I had seen the full horror of it. I went to bed and cried myself to sleep at the realization that people could be so cruel to each other. I am surprised Mum and Dad let me watch it. They often censored programmes they though unsuitable – they must have thought I was ready for that one – educational I expect. Think they maybe should have censored it; think they thought they should have censored it too.  It was around 1962, 17 years after the war and still early days of TV.  I think it may have been the first time Mum and Dad had seen it in graphic detail themselves.

Grandkids

6th April 2013

We had a hedgehog visit us this weekend while the grandchildren were here.  It was the first time Baz had ever seen a hedgehog in real life. We fed it some of Max's remaining cat tins. I noticed it was fly blown. Well the eggs hadn't hatched yet. Anyway I sprayed it with fly strike spray.  Hope I didn't kill it. It seemed stronger for its food but I haven't seen it since so I am not hopeful. A hedgehog out in daylight is not good.

Teddies holding hand

We decided to go to the forestry after that.  We went to the estuary of the Waikato.  We took some cardboard to surf down the sand dunes but the sand was wet and the old boxes didn't slide very well.  We all enjoyed the stab of fear of the steep slopes of sand and relaxed as we rolly-pollied down safe in the softness.  Lola went up and down the dune with ease and Ryan did well but all the adults had to sit down to rest every 10 meters or so. Baz thought he was fit and initially charged up like it was s training run but the dune got to him too and he had to stop after a few meters as well.

Lovely roast lamb for tea and far too much wine. We all crashed early especially the kids. 

Baz has never seen a real hedgehog before

Baz and Ryan.  Note its Easter and Ryan is holding his Chocolate bunny. Can't let that go.