I can't quite decide
whether to note down October 17 as the date of our first freeze or not.
Our thermometer recorded a low of 34 and there was no visible frost up
here on the ridge. But there was a thin skin of ice on the car
windshield, and some of our pepper plants (but not others) got nipped.
I guess that's the benefit of a ridgetop location --- we only get
patchy frost while neighbors in the valley report a real freeze.
Whatever the decision on
freezes, conditions are definitely autumnal now. And a hike at Lake
Hope State Park turned up some lovely colors...if not on tree leaves.
The image at the top of this post is some kind of gall I'd never seen
before and I'm pretty sure the fungi are jack-o-lantern
mushrooms...meaning that if I headed back in the dark, they should glow.
As a certified nighttime
homebody, though, I'll just snuggle up with a warm cat and remember how different
our life was a year ago. No plumbing, no power, no internet, no
heat. How far we've come in twelve short months!
I love Lake Hope! My family gathers there for Thanksgiving every other year. There are American persimmon trees around (one on the east side of the lake) and have found oyster mushrooms along the trail. The history of the iron smelters is very interesting, too.
Have you been to the haunted train tunnel?
Hi Anna, nice picture of the Jack-o-Lantern and a great reminder of how similar these poisonous mushrooms can look at first glance to the edible and delicious chanterelle. For those interested, here is a really good video on how to differentiate the two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aOwgaIFKMY