It's Time

We've been rearranging our home these past days, incorporating some of Mom's furniture that our family divided up, and getting rid of some of our old-worn-out furniture. In the process we took a long, hard look at the forty-year collection of books on our shelves - shelves, I might add, that are spilling over with books laying on top of the books. Good books! Books that we have every intention of reading again "some day." At our age, we've come to realize that day will probably never come. So we purged. Four boxes of books went to MCC Connections Thrift Store in Kidron. Some went to friends and family who have specific interests in certain subjects. We kept only books that have sentimental value to us, but still have several full shelves. It was time.

Along with that process, I decided to give up my large collection of Mother Earth News magazines. I've had a subscription to that magazine for many years. It was tough to see them go, but what do you with a collection like that? Nearly all the same information is available on the internet, and all it takes to get it is a small laptop.

Again, it was time.

Then I found my stack of Readers Digest and Christianity Today. The articles are so good! I just couldn't part with them. But they're in boxes now, along with Mother Earth News, headed to the thrift store. They will sort through them, and many will end up on their shelves, selling for 25 cents, or in some cases, 50 cents. That's a good deal for some seriously good reading.

This week, Juanita and I were driving over to Apple Creek for our weekly ice cream cone at the Golden Bear ice cream shop. We always get the butter pecan, hand dipped cones - size small. They have the best butter pecan that we have ever tasted. Rich and creamy, with lots of nuts. This is our third summer of making weekly trips to get these cones.

Anyway, as we headed west on Hackett Road, we observed a large farm-field of red, coned-shaped flowers. Neither of us had ever seen anything like it. The field was beautiful, and glowed red in the lowering sunshine. After coming home, Juanita searched the internet and found the name. It is Crimson Clover, and is used as a ground cover-crop.

                                    Field of red.  So beautiful.

           The honey bees like it too.  The whole field was humming.

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This morning, I looked from the kitchen window into our back yard and saw clusters of mushrooms growing where a tree at one-time stood. Apparently there are still roots under the surface that are feeding the growth of the fungi. Yesterday, there were none when I mowed the lawn. This has happened numerous times before, and by evening the mushrooms have turned very dark. Tomorrow they will be black, and disappearing back into the grass. It finally seemed like I should find out if they are edible.  Take a look at the photos.  Do you know what they are?

I have learned that these mushrooms are indeed edible. They are called Mica Cap. (Coprinellus micaceus). They are found where wood is rotting beneath the surface of the soil. I haven't tried them yet, but hope to soon. They need to be harvested before the gills began turning dark - and that happens within a couple hours after they first appear.

That's about all the chit-chat for today. From Kidron, Ohio, we hope you have a wonderful weekend! So long.