I'm starting to re-stock my dehydrated pantry and my basement pantry in case of an invasion. Talked to our son and he is starting too. I remember the covid days and the chaos it created. Better to be safe than sorry. Unfortunately, these are the times we live in. 😒

All it has been doing for the past five days is snowing in large amounts. I'm so tired of cleaning it up. With the price of food constantly rising I'm starting to eat more root veggies. Not a huge fan of carrots but this easy recipe is so good. Pork roast tonight, rosemary potatoes and carrots. 👇

Welcome 2026 - Wishing you all a Happy New Year! An adorable baby morel just starting to peep through the earth. All I want is an end to wars, dictators to all perish and for the earth to heal. ❤️

Happy new year's eve. Timeline cleanse when Frankie was a pup and grandma placed him in his pup pen for a nappie. LOL he rarely ever slept and tried his hardest to stay up. This will be me tonight around nine o'clock. Sound on. #pugs

We just finished the driveway and decks. Got hammered yesterday and it's starting again!! Steve snowblowed and I shovelled. Good exercise I suppose. I hate winter. #ontario

We are snowed in and will take all day to clean our driveway. Being all white out my post is a common white mushroom. Leucoagaricus leucothites, known as the smooth parasol, woman on motorcycle, white dapperling. 👇

What a storm today! Unrelenting to say the least and we live in the middle of a forest. Finally snapped a pic. of a Cardinal, such nervous birds. The picture was taken from a distance through a window. He banged into our window so gently as we were careful with window bangers.

The period between Christmas and the New Year - twixmas/festive gap/dead week is a bit of a limbo phase. Time to reflect on this past crazy year coupled with anticipation about the new year. I'm just looking forward to Spring which seems so far away.

Wow, super cool!

Nice visit yesterday. Bought Frankie his own chair at the restore for $4 as I don't like pets on my furniture. He liked it at first and seemed to work. By the end of the visit the little bugger was sleeping on Grandma's lap...lol I'm such a sucker!! Hoping everyone had a great day yesterday. ❤️

Tradition in our house on C. Day is to make potato pancakes and they were the best I have ever made. Crunchy, spicey, and oh so yummy. From my table to yours - enjoy family, friends, food, and much happiness today. Sonny and Frankie will be over for a visit today unfortunately my DIL has to work.

From my family to yours, have a very Merry Christmas.

Happy Christmas Eve. A Winter greenery/mushroom outside arrangement I made a few years back. The mock oysters sure stand out with the vibrant orange. Some say the aroma is similar to rotten cabbage and eggs!

Got a chuckle out of this while walking across the deck to fill the bird feeder. Morse code for birds. Hurry up hoowomen and fill it up! This season I'm going through seed and suet like crazy.

Late fall oyster/green backs are a cold tolerating fungus - picture taken at the beginning of a cold spell. They require long cooking times to get out the bitter taste. I enjoy them for their meaty texture. These large guys were out of reach to bring home. #mushroommonday #photography

A close up of ash bolete and the pores- they're very large, with an almost diamond shape. They aren't the greatest edible mushroom you'll ever find, but some people like them. I found them to have a strong flavour so I used them in a cream sauce served over pasta to tame them down. #fungifriends

An explosion of homegrown grey oysters from a few years ago. #fungifriends #mushrooms

For #throwbackthursday a chunky homegrown wine cap - Stropharia rugosoannulata. Some say they taste like a potato boiled in red wine. Not sure about that but they are tasty and easy to grow at home. My beds start producing in late spring and last until Fall and fruit after a heavy rain.

Beautiful

Perfectly formed dryads saddle ready to take off! So spaceship like - beam me up Scotty! #thicktrunktuesday #fungifriends

With Winter now in full force and no wild mushrooms to be found I will post some pictures of my cultivated mushrooms throughout the years. Beautiful pink oysters for this freezing, doomy day today. #fungifriends

Spotted today while in town. Someone's in the festive mood 😂 Not sure how well or long painters tape will hold up? Must have taken hours doing the whole car. #ohcanada #truenorth

Happy #stumpday to those who celebrate. #nature #moss

Chilly, chilly day today - outdoor temperature is reading -19.4 c good day to stay inside by the warm fire. I look forward to walks like this again...

Happy Sunday. A lovely picture of shrimp of the woods on a mossy covered dying tree. #photography #nature

A colourful basket of Chroogomphus - Lactarius - Suillus and one wood blewit under the large milk cap. Picture taken a few years ago. Digging out of the snow again today! #fungifriends

Happy #thicktrunktuesday Expired honey mushrooms at the base of a large birch. #fungifriends

I've witnessed this a few times over the years. Squirrels dehydrating their mushroom finds, this is a dryads saddle. It was high up in the tree for better air flow and sun. Smart buggers they are! #natureisawesome #fungifriends

Apricot Jelly (Guepinia helvelloides) is a salmon-pink, ear-shaped, gelatinous fungus and always reminds me of rose petals. Rubbery in texture, is edible, and may be eaten raw with salads, pickled, or candied. Fruit in the late Summer and usually after a heavy rain. #fungifriends #photography

For breakfast today I was craving deviled eggs? Made seven and leftovers for tomorrow. Are they really a thing anymore? We love them and they're such an old school thing I guess? Fresh finely chopped sweet onions mixed in, yum yum. Down the pipe they go...

Blackening waxcap - Hygrocibe conica, known as witch’s hat (common name) They start off as red/orange and decompose to black. Super cool find and I have only found this one years ago in the black stage. We are now snowed in and all buses etc are cancelled. Yucky Winter! #fungifriends #nature

It has now started - good lord I HATE winter!! So depressing. Hopefully, Steve has a safe drive home. #ontario #ihatewinter

May abundance and joy fill your home today.

Misty, foggy pic of our backyard from the back room. Our house sits on the top of a ravine so I can capture doomy photos. A big storm is coming tonight and last five days they say?

Decorated the tree for Christmas and "yep" that's it. All I want right now is simple and quiet as the world is in chaos. 2020 was the start of covid so hanging the baubles reminds me of better times. Lol - not really 😒

For #thicktrunktuesday a family of palms on a trip in 2014 to Costa Rica. On these dreary days it's nice to see blue skies. It was always sunny but very, very hot all the time. #puravida

Almost a #ThickTrunkTuesday. #Trees #fungi. Birch tree with birch polypore.

An interesting slime mold I found six years ago on my lawn. I have no idea on what type it is but sure was unique!

Purchased a 10 lb bag of beets for only 4 bucks on the weekend. Hubby had today off work so today was the day for pickled beets. Twelve pints size cost around .50 cents each. With all the work/time/mess and effort it takes, it now costs around 7 bucks per jar...lol oh well #homemade is the best. ;

For #throwbackthursday pic. taken in 2019 of a lone morel just chilling on this beautiful morning. #fungifriends #photography

Besides mushrooms/ gardening - I love to cook on a budget. Pre prepped tonight's meal. I go to Walmart and scan their dates on meat, go back the day before exp. Get it for 1/2. You must go early though. Stuffed CAN peppers/pork/cheese all on sale of course. Cost under 5 for two. I am retired 🤣

Large family of small puffy's on a large decaying log. Happy #thicktrunkthursday #nature #photography

I would love to write a children's book, now that I have the time being retired and all. Wouldn't know where to start though? Congratulations...

Happy #mossymonday Young honeys fruiting on a large log. #mushroommonday

Five years ago we came across this within thirty minutes into a hike way up north. It gave us the creeps so we turned around and left. There was only one and maybe they were just fooling around? Who knows?

I spy with my little eye something very tiny and white. Found around ten today while cleaning up the gardens. So tiny and darn cute 🥰

One of my favourite pictures. Happy #fungifriday

All I could say when I found this was it's VB its VB as I couldn't pronounce the scientific name. Steve just looked at me like "what the heck are you talking about"? Pointed way up in the tree and wow what a beautiful mushroom. I have only found this species once. The gills 👇 #throwbackthursday

One of my hundreds of songs that I love. We will all get through this nightmare. Hopefully ❤️❤️

Got the new lights for our birch on...lol what a project!! Tons of settings but I just put on solid. Maybe come Christmas I will get adventurous. I like simple things. Not sure how I will hang ornaments on it?