Tremella mesenterica, yellow brain or golden jelly fungus are a few common names. It is most frequently found on dead but attached and on recently fallen branches, especially of angiosperms, as a parasite of wood decay fungi in the genus Peniophora. The gelatinous, orange-yellow fruit body of the fungus, which can grow up to 7.5 cm (3.0 in) in diameter.
We went out to the farm to do more reinforcement of the shed with 2 by 4s and to also take a walk. We started walking east where we saw the young bear. No sign of him today. We followed the wet weather gully east and then south until we reached the North Trail. We used loppers and laid our stick trees down beside the trail. We heard crows and hawks as we walked. We recognized a large loblolly and knew we were nearing North Trail.
We found this tree with holes bored into the tree trunk and the bark on the ground and think maybe the pileated woodpecker was looking for a meal of insects.
Evidence of a large woodpecker looking for insects. We hear a pileated woodpecker often and were visited by this large creature back in the early fall. Fallen bark. I wonder what insects the woodpecker found. Apioperdon pyriforme, or commonly called the pear-shaped puff mushroom, a saprobic fungus present throughout much of the world. Emerging in autumn, this puffball is common and abundant on decaying logs of both deciduous and coniferous wood. It is considered a choice edible when still immature and the inner flesh is white.Mycena capillaripes, pink edge bonnet, is a saprobic mushroom found growing in pine forests. We saw it everywhere there were pine trees. Thousands of them. They are tiny.
We did not check the new trail camera. We will remember to do it next time we’re out to Saint Andrew’s Forest Farm.
In order to begin to minimize the spread of the black knot fungus, we are going to be mindful of how we manage the infected branches. When possible, remove them, burn them or cover them from wind and rain to inhibit growth of the fungus. As we closed the gate to leave, a squall came blowing through bringing wind, rain, ice and sleet. Our truck and Saint Andrew’s Road as well as Howardsville Turnpike were covered in ice. The weather forecast did not predict this.
The rainy days have been nice for the waterway at the bottom of the slope.
As we walked through the forest, we heard the crows and the hawk calling often. It was a warmer day and it smelled of fresh earth and moisture even up top in the clearing.
We looked through the woods and found multiple individual Laccaria up near the front gate. These are edible although we’ve not foraged any as of yet. Animals or insects have been eating them as quickly as they grow.
A video of the waterway at the bottom of the hill.
We can see through the forest better now that it’s winter. We can see the contours of the landscape since the trees have lost their leaves. While we walk through, we plan and think about how to improve the health of the forest. Lately we have been noting the black cherry trees which have succumbed to black knot fungus. We read that this needs to be cut out and if it’s the whole tree, it cannot be saved. We are planning how to get these trees down and removed from the area. Rain, wind and cool weather assist the spores of the black knot fungus. Black knot fungus impacts cherry and plum trees. Until we have managed this, we will not plant trees susceptible to this fungus.
Mycena. Found where pine needles are laying in the ground.
We went out to the farm to have a look about, check the new trail cam and see if the red-shouldered hawk was still there. We also checked in with the shed. It was still dry. We walked down Beech Trail and saw no sign at all of the hawk we’d found dead there on Christmas Eve. We decided an animal probably carried it away. We continued our walk and met South Trail. We found a few beautiful mushrooms. Jelly wood ears and Purplepore bracket fungus.
Top of the Purplepore bracket fungus
We walked down to the water way and saw clear water and pretty mosses, ferns and lichen. We saw the single purple leaf of Cranefly orchids all over. Clusters and singles. We thought we saw strawberries off South Trail.
Turning the trail camera on. 😀
We walked up North Trail and stopped to check the new camera. We forgot to turn it on! Next time we go out we will see if there’s been any animal activity. Back in the clearing, we looked for mushrooms and made plans for trees and our building. Chris walked towards the truck and I was near the shed and a hawk with similar coloring came flying from Beech Trail where the hawk was found on Christmas Eve. It landed in the trees and called out. Piercing, loud, mournful and beautiful, the hawk called to us and then swooped out of the tree and flew towards us and off.
Accidental pocket video of the sounds of the hawk and our reactions. 😄 It calls out 7 times. We believe it was mourning the dead hawk and knew we were mourning the loss as well. As it flew away, it swooped near us.
We were impressed by this hawk’s presence and attempt to communicate. We will always remember this encounter.
Little birds flitting about in the trees while we worked on the shed. Wood ear fungiWood ear fungi found at SAFF on East Trail near waterway
Laccaria found along the driveway. Edible mushrooms that arrive in cooler weather.
We went out to Saint Andrew’s Forest Farm on Christmas Eve to take a walk in the woods and look for mushrooms. So far, since the heavy rains, we have seen mushrooms up top along the driveway and in the mostly pine forest near the road. These Laccaria are growing in clusters near the gate and along the driveway in the clearing.
We wanted to also check the new trail cam to see if we’d gotten any images of an animal living in the den yet we had technical difficulties but will try again in a few days.
Deceased Red-Shouldered hawk in woods. No obvious external wounds.
We found a dead hawk in the woods along Beech Trail. For native Americans, the dead hawk symbolizes courage, resilience, determination, a new beginning, good luck and freedom from the past. Also, prosperity, breaking of limitations and clarity. We were sorry to find it and hoped it had lived a long, full and beautiful life. We emailed the Monacan tribe to ask if they would like to come and collect the feathers. Hawk feathers are sacred and used in ceremonies.
Poplar logs inoculated with Lion’s mane spores. Neofavolus alveolaris, Hexagonal polypore, saprobic. Found near the stumpery just south of the clearing.
Tops of Neofavolus alveolaris. They were a bright orange.
Underneath the stumpery pile, an animal has dug a hole or tunnel. We found several other spots like this today. We received our new trail camera and will set it up tomorrow we hope.
We went to the farm today to inoculate more poplar logs with Lion’s mane mushroom spores. Once finished, we took a short walk around and found a few mushrooms. We found a polypore and a common Laccaria. These were new mushrooms found at SAFF.
Common Laccaria tops. One young specimen and one older.White gills, orange concave cap,long brown stipe. Found growing out of leaf litter in mixed forest. We found a few singles of these as well as a cluster near the driveway and gate up front.
On Saturday night and all day Sunday, Buckingham got 1.7 inches of rain from a storm that moved through from Florida and the Carolinas and continued up the East Coast. We were excited to go out and see if the shed remained water-tight throughout the storm. We also wanted to see water levels in the waterways and wet weather gullies and look for mushroom development.
The view from the top of the slope. We saw this den which could be where a fox or coyote would live, or perhaps a smaller creature, or even a three year old male bear. We ordered a new camera last night to take photos of any movement so we can know who may live here. Here are sounds from a bear den. https://ktwh.org/sounds-from-a-bear-den-shared-on-ktwh/We found this hole near the bottom waterway which was dripping and water was flowing down. Sound on for tinkling water noises. 💦 It was cold yesterday so we wore our orange shirts over all of our clothes and coats to be sure to be seen by hunters; although, we did not hear any shots fired or dogs hunting. We have avoided this South border since hunting season began. It was a treat to walk it. We were amazed to see how much water flowed at the bottom waterway and along the sides. We have never seen it so full and wet. The ferns, lichen and moss were glowing with brighter greens. The water was clear and trickling came from everywhere.Looking at our camp from the forest.These tiny saprotrophic mushrooms covered the forest floor. If we looked close enough, we found them everywhere up top in the woods. There were thousands. We can’t wait until next week to see what other, larger mushrooms emerge from the rains. At bottom of slope looking up we saw areas where pines have dropped their needles. We began to plan this spot as one area we want to clear of the thousand of sticklike tulip poplars in order to plant an orchard of paw paws, other fruits and nut trees. Just behind us, we are standing 20 feet from the bottom waterway/stream. We may apply to the https://www.jamesriverbuffers.org/ for help planting the area. We are determining our eligibility for this program. “The James River Association and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation are working with landowners across the Middle and Upper James River watersheds to restore or create forest buffers that improve the quality of local waterways.” We are checking into it and are excited to find out more.Chris on the North Trail taking down a diseased tulip poplar. The tulip poplar overwhelm areas in the forest if left unchecked. Maples also appear to be invasive where we find them.
We were so glad we went over and grateful to know the camp remained dry in that windy and heavy downpour. We hadn’t yet imagined building a fire at SAFF even in our clearing because of the drought. This rain really replenished the moisture of the earth. The ground’s thirst appears quenched for now. It was a beautiful afternoon to visit Saint Andrew’s Forest Farm and have a walk around.
The very first Lion’s Mane mushroom we grew at home from a kit.
We started growing shiitake mushrooms about nine years ago after buying a couple of already inoculated logs at the farmer’s market in downtown Staunton. It was nice to have these mushrooms and it was a great first experience to grow our own at home. More recently, we became interested in growing Lion’s Mane mushrooms after reading about the health benefits and the taste. https://www.forbes.com/health/body/health-benefits-of-lions-mane/. We were so glad we did as they are delicious. The taste mimics crab, scallops or lobster. We sauté on high heat in a dry pan for 10 minutes then add olive oil salt pepper and garlic. Then we eat it on its own or with salads. We have heard they make great “crab” cakes. We will try this soon.
This Root Mushroom Farm grow kit was great. It came full of mycelium and ready to grow. We were so successful with it, we ordered plugs inoculated with Lion’s mane, Hericium erinaceous. Weeks ago, we cut down a beech tree from the farm and we aged the logs a few days. Then we drilled holes for the plugs.
The inoculated plugs and beeswax bars for growing our Lion’s mane on beech logs at home and Saint Andrew’s Forest Farm. Drilling the holes for the plugs. We filled the holes in with our inoculated plug and then put warm beeswax to seal it in and keep moisture. Now we wait for the mushrooms to grow! We are going to also inoculate logs at the farm to continue to diversify the already thriving mycelium in our soil.
We are heading back out to the farm later today to inoculate some of our hardwood logs.
Lion’s mane mushroom and spinach salad with walnuts and Dijon vinaigrette Our supplies needed to drill holes and inoculate the logs at the farm. We built a simple stand for tulip poplar logs in the forest at the farm and are inoculating them with Lion’s mane spawn plugs. We hope to add Hericium erinacious to our home grown mushrooms. They are native to Virginia.
We have sealed up the shed very nicely and quickly before the big rain expected to bring heavy downpours.
We can’t wait to camp. Chris built our compost toilet and bed for our campsite. We will cover this in a post with more details. We will insulate the inside and add wall board before bringing out the toilet and bed. We have solar lights and think we will stay warm and safe in our little campsite. Looking for truffles at the base of an oak. 😄Tremella mesenterica, commonly called Witches butter. A fun find long the edge of the clearing up top. An edible jelly fungus which is said to have medicinal benefits and it can be added to soup. We have not tried this! The texture does not look scrummy at all, but it was beautiful to look at. Cut-leaf grape fern. It has a michorizal relationship with the soil. Fern moss along the trails all around Saint Andrew’s Forest Farm.
We found quite a few Lactarius indigo or Indigo Milkcap mushrooms during the summer and early fall of 2023. They were so pretty and just amazed us each time we saw them. They are michorizal with a number of deciduous and coniferous trees including pine and oak. We found them in a number of places. Up top along the driveway, along South Trail and in the forest in multiple locations. We’ve learned to cook our wild mushrooms very well on high heat (7ish) for 20 minutes. We start cooking them in a dry already hot skillet. After 10 minutes, we add some olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.
While they cooked they smelled a little bit of fish. Once cooked, this wasn’t detectable in smell or taste. We used these to top our pizza pie.
Saint Andrews Forest Farm Blog
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