With most of our summer crops long gone, the winter crops are now emerging. There are at least 6 different types of lettuce planted in our front yard as I type this. My neighbor Vi graciously gave packages of kale seed I hope to have in the ground tomorrow. Gardening friends say that peas and broccoli grow well in the fall, also. I'm not sure just how ambitious I am concerning fall/winter gardening so we'll see about that.
As promised, the rains have brought seemingly millions of mushrooms bursting forth from the musty forest floor. Mushroom hunting is my personal 'zen' activity. There is something about the earthy fragrance of the forest, the spongy retraction of rotting logs, pine needles and debris under my feet as I walk, the dimmed light of being underneath the pine and fir canopy. The preternatural quite has an odd effect on my pulse which quickens with adrenaline as I forage. All mushrooms are lovely. The loveliest are usually inedible. Many are deadly. "Mom!" one of my kids will shout, "What is this?". Out comes the identification book. We stoop, we peer, we search the pages. Ahh, a bolete.
Salmon celebrations are in the works. Salmon is an important part of Coastal life. It is a major source of income for some. Ocean caught, non-farmed salmon at $12 a pound is an occasional treat for most of us. It's joke here that acquaintances with boats become best friends during salmon season.
Blackberries are nearly done. Several jars of jam and preserves line our shelves. Huckleberries are still around for those who don't mind the tediousness of picking them.
With summer over, the crab catching should be better and better. I'm not entirely sure, but I think crab molt during the summer, making for puny crabs with little meat in the shell. Regardless, I'm ready to ditch the canning and head to the docks with a crab net. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats fresh, sweet, Dungeness crab. You East Coasters can keep your little-bitty blue crabs. I will take Dungeness any day.
Fall is glorious on the Oregon Coast. Abundance is everywhere. Join us. Oh, and bring a rain coat.
-EJ
2 comments:
Dear Ellen:
Well, I thought I wanted to follow your blog, but I think you are going to keep me too hungry!! Blackberries, Yum! My grandmother made the best, best, best, best blackberry cobler ever. You, dear girl, have my dream life. Gardening, living in the country, how lovely. And Salmon! Now, the Kale and mushrooms you can keep. I am totaly landlocked here in Tennessee, not that it isn't beautiful here, but the photos I have seen of the Oregon coast - wow. Probably bores you, huh?
with love, i am totally over the hill
No, I never get bored here. I lived in the suburbs of DC for awhile and it was the ocean I missed the most.
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