Tag Archives: Tan Oaks

After Saturday night's/Sunday morning's wild storm, Rick and I checked our forest this morning for wind damage. We found surprisingly little though neighbors have big trees down and power is out for many of us still. I saw the first green tips of several Red Clintonias, one of my favorite wildflowers. It doesn't usually bloom until the first of May but seeing the first shoots brings the picture of its lovely blooms to my mind's eye. Along a shady path on a dead Tan Oak we stopped to admire a beautiful group of Turkey Tail mushrooms. This wild mushroom is being studied by scientists for its medicinal qualities. We might have a wonder drug growing wild in the forest! My wonder drug was seeing a large pod of Gray Whales late yesterday afternoon with at least two calves headed north.

2 Comments

On a walk this morning, with the forest still dripping from an earlier cloudburst, the air was fresh and cool. Huckleberry, our Golden Retriever, led the way and our footfalls were quiet on the wet duff of the forest. A splash of white caught my eye. There! Under a group of Tan Oaks was a White Chanterelle, a gift in the forest.