Fall's Last Hurrah

 After the big wind and rain storms of the last 10 days, most of the trees have dropped their leaves. Now the last of Fall's color is found not by looking up, but by looking down.

A Garden Finish!

This isn't the most attractive picture of my big garden but to me it's a lovely site! Today I finished digging up the last of my 199 dahlia plants and I got all of the "end-of-season" clean-up completed. Yippee! Considering that we had over 3" of rain earlier this week the digging wasn't too bad. It was actually so wet the clay couldn't even clump on my boots. So, now the garden and the gardener rest!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The year has turned its circle,

The seasons come and go.

                              The harvest all is gathered in

And chilly north winds blow.

                        Orchards have shared their treasures,

The fields, their yellow grain,

So open wide the doorway ---

                              Thanksgiving comes again!


                           HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE !

The Last Outdoor Farmer's Market of the Year

Today was the final outdoor Lane County Farmer's Market for 2011. The crowds at the market are much lighter now than even a month ago. It's a shame really because there is still so much amazing produce to take home and I even managed to find some new surprises today too!

How about some fresh Ginger! This beautiful white & pink ginger is so much prettier than the brown nobs that are sold in the grocery store. These bulbs still were attached to their stalks. I had no idea that ginger resembled bamboo so much above the soil line.

And these yellow beauties were quince.

And another exotic fruit - persimmon.

There were a number of stalls offering mushrooms for sale. The selection was amazing.

These cauliflower mushrooms reminded me of sea coral.

And the golden chanterelled just glowed.

Mushrooms

I haven't had the luck this Fall finding and photographing mushrooms like I did last year. I think part of this is due to last year's excessive rainfall starting in Mid-September and really never quitting. And I am sure part of it is due to me just not being in the right place at the right time- with my camera. However, I did manage to find these two interesting groups of mushrooms in the last few weeks. I don't think that I have ever seen the group pictured above. I found them in our "island" area, a grassy, mown triangle up by the house. There were groups of them sprinkled all over the island. This was a newer group and the pronouncement between the white mushroom and its yellow crown was quite clear. As each mushroom aged, its "umbrella" dome opened and the yellow eye faded.

In our front yard area, and in the front flower bed, I found many groups of the mushrooms pictured below. After spending a lot of time looking at my "Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest" book that Santa Claus brought me last year, I think that I have pretty confidently identified these as "Coprinus Comatus", Shaggy Mane mushrooms. Shaggy Manes are one of the most popular edible mushrooms and fruit mostly in late Summer to Fall in the Pacific Northwest.

Yet Another Frosty Morning

Yet another frosty, cold morning. The thermometer read 27 degrees and everything was coated in a thick blanket of white frost. I particularly admired the braken ferns, their beautiful geometry etched in white.