Photo Friday: Mushroom Edition

Well, not *just* mushrooms... but quite a few. Right now, here in the PNW the weather is perfect for fungi and they're popping up everywhere! Each evening, when I let the chickens out for their free range time, I wander around with them and take pictures of all the different mushrooms I can find, so I can try to ID them later.

Shelf fungus on a standing dead cherry tree.

Last of the tomatoes and peppers.

Shaggy! 

Gem-studded Puffballs.

Shetland sheep whose name I can't remember.
She (and her friend) want to come live here with us, though. 

Beautiful morning at the farm.

Unknown variety; still working on ID. 

Happy Friday!

Fig Jam in the making. It turned out great; might even be
the best thing that's ever happened to yogurt, IMO.

Giant Pumpkin. 1,330 pounds!

These displays are one of my favorite parts of the fair. 

Love the tree in the center of this one!

The dahlias were outstanding- probably the best looking flowers being judged.
Some of the roses were quite nice too, but they were a little older looking.

There were a lot of  bite warnings on the animal pens, but this was the most artistic.

What did your week look like?

Today's Thursday, Right?

Jeepers... I'm having a terrible time keeping the days straight this week. No idea why; it's not like I've been out of commission or anything- maybe it's because I have something scheduled for each day this week. I keep having little freak-out moments, like I've forgotten an appointment or something.

Besides that, yesterday was a BLAST at the fair. I got some great photos and we had a great time walking around and looking at the exhibits and animals. The only downside? We didn't check the schedule close enough, and all of the fiber animals (sheep, goats, alpacas, etc) weren't showing until today. Yep... so aside from the petting zoo, and a little bit in the artist's shop, there were no fleeces or fibers to be found. I did meet some really nice ladies though, in the fiber arts corner- there were a few spinners and weavers set up, so I chatted with them for a while. I think fiber people are some of the friendliest folks on the planet! (Oh, and in case you were wondering- yes, I bought a little bump of roving from the shop, as a consolation prize.)

• Speaking of consolation- Fiber Fusion is only one month away. Yahoo!
• Another update already? I just installed 7! Two iOS 8 update tips and tricks, courtesy of my dear friend Joe. 
• This recipe for pork chops with a chanterelle sauce sounds divine. I've never heard of skyr before, so I really appreciate 1) learning something new and 2) when acceptable substitutions for hard to find ingredients are provided in a recipe. 
• Ooh. Ginger Apple Cream Scones? Yes, please!
• My oven is about to get a workout... another version of a roasted tomato tart!
• Speaking of tomatoes: How to ripen the green ones. If you, like me, have a bunch of them on the vine as the weather starts to change, this could be invaluable. 
• Or, you could try pickling them. (And by pickling, I mean fermented, of course.)
• Looking for some sheepy goodness on Twitter? Check out @herdyshepherd1 for some fantastic pics. 

What have you been checking out online this week?

Friday Photos

The fun just keeps coming! 

Pink Heirloom Beefsteaks on Monday

When life gives you eggs... make french toast! It freezes well!

Foraging in the evening light

A new friend at the farm!

We're getting about 8 eggs a day, now, give or take. 

Friday Photos

Well, we made it through another one... happy Friday! With the weather starting out soggy, it wasn't the greatest week for taking photos. In looking through what I did take, most the good ones went up on Instagram and Facebook pretty quickly- I need to learn to pace myself, I guess. :)

I did head out this morning to take some pictures of the rabbits I've listed on Craigslist:

Silver Bun

Cinnamon Bun

Not the most artistic pics, I know, but they'll do for CL. If you're in the area, and want to buy a rabbit, the ad is here. I just need to downsize the herd before the weather changes, so I'm not feeding extras through the winter.

The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend, so I'm looking forward to getting to spend some time in with my camera again. (What am I going to do on Fridays, once winter comes??) I've been working through the Craftsy photography class I signed up for, which is great. It's packed full of so much information, and I'm finding out about features my camera has that I didn't know existed! In working with the settings on my camera for the class, however, I've discovered that there's a speck of dust inside my camera lens, which is a bummer. I'm going to have to send it off for a fix at some point soon.

Let's see... what else? Oh! Alex scored us a pair of free tickets to the Washington State Fair; according to their website it's the "largest single event held in WA state". I'm looking forward to heading down that way to check it out- it's probably been more than 10 years since we went, last.

Do you go to your state's fair? What's your favorite part?

It's Link Time!

The more I put these link lists together, the more I realize that I gravitate towards food blogs. Not like that's a bad thing, really, but still... I need to search out some other things to share, besides just recipes. How about you leave a comment, here or on Facebook, and tell me about a favorite website you visit regularly? I'm always looking for new stuff to read. 

• C is for cookie... and these Peanut Butter Cup Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches are for me!
• MMMM! Porcini Mushroom Lasagna. I will have to stalk my farmer's market for fresh mushrooms. 
• Kohlrabi is one of my favorite veggies, so I tend to forget that it's kind of uncommon. If you see some at your market- buy it, and make this salad. Can't find mustard greens? Sub in a spicy microgreen mix, instead. 
• I have Potato Envy. There, I said it. After digging a couple of my bins up last week, I'm sad to say I'm  probably going to be disappointed again with our yield. I'm working on troubleshooting and coming up with a plan for next year- more on that to come. Until then, check out Susy's garden to see what potatoes are supposed to do. 
• It's no secret that I love pickles. Did you know, though, that I love both kinds? Here's a great explanation by Amanda over at Phickle, about the difference between fermented and canned pickles. 
• I really want to get into mushroom hunting. What's not to love about going for a hike and coming back with food?
• Are you guys watching the Outlander series on Starz? I've been a huge fan of the books since the first one came out, so I was a little leery about TV adaptation. What do you think, so far? If you haven't read them yet, and are looking for something to keep you busy through the winter- I highly recommend checking them out!
• Genius smartphone photo tips... it's well worth the three minutes to watch the video.

That about wraps it up for today! Have you had a chance to think about what you want to see more of here on Acorn and Thistle? Do let me know- I want to hear from you! 

Friday Photos- Thursday Edition

Hey everyone! We're back from our quick getaway to Glacier National Park, and since I haven't been online at all this week, I don't have any links to share... but I do have some pics from the trip!

Mountain Goats at Logan Pass

The view from the far side of Hidden Lake

Alex on the boardwalk on the way to the trail.

Wildflower meadow at the lake.

Another mountain goat!

Indian Paintbrush

Rock. The geology at the park is stunning!

More meadows on the way up to the trail.

Even though it was a fast visit-only one day to hike in the park- it was totally worth it. We managed to fit in right around 10 miles of hiking anyway, and even got caught in a fantastic thunderstorm while we were on the far side of the lake: A thankfully short downpour, complete with high winds and hail! So glad we always carry our 10 essentials, regardless of how nice the weather seems or how short our hike is planned to be.

What have you been up to this week? Have you gone anywhere fun? Stop by Facebook and let me know!

Friday Photos

What a week, folks...TGIF; I'm ready to put this one to bed! The rain started on Tuesday, and with it came a major fibro flare- a one-two punch combo that I really could do without. It'll pass soon; just need to ride it out for now. I did manage to get a few pictures taken, in between raindrops, though! Here's what it looked like:

Bee in Cucumber Flower... thank goodness it was sunny on Monday, at least!

Did you say... apples?

Nom, nom, nom,slobber. (I had no idea cattle were so... drooly.)

The tomato forest. So far, I've eaten three cherry tomatoes and
picked 2 full-sized ones. YAY!

The new yarn, on the loom. You can't see how shiny it is from this picture, but
it's going to be gorgeous when it's finished. More to come!

Glacier National Park, here we come!

Friday Photos

Good morning and Happy Friday! I just found out that there's a news crew coming to film at the farm this morning, so I need to hurry over to get things tidied up before they get there. The fund-raising goal wasn't met, but there's been some extra publicity in the local media lately, so perhaps that will help save the farm. Cross your fingers!

Apples, apples everywhere...

Tiny rabbit in the weeds

Reflections of a car show

First egg from one of the new girls! (The darker of the two)

One of my friends at the farm

Zucchini: Pickles in Progress

What did your week look like?

Friday Photos

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing weekend planned.

It's been another busy one here, so I'm just going to get right to the week in photos:

Echinacea

Fig!!

Psst... Maggie- it's finished!

Fledgling Robin. Saw it yesterday as Mom walked it farther away from the chickens.
 Looks to be doing well!

GIANT SLUG

'Cause I'm Happy...

Potato farm up the road.

Tomato Jungle!

Volunteer potatoes. One plant... 12 tubers. Woo Hoo!

And since I wasn't able to post yesterday's usual collection of links (hello, migraine), here are a couple of links that I had set aside as interesting:

• We don't have tomato hornworms here, but I understand they're quite the problem in some places. If you happen to be in one of those areas (Hi Karen!), you may find this article from Hobby Farms helpful.
• Speaking of tomatoes... here's a handful of recipes from Gardener's Supply. That Bloody Mary mix sure looks good!

Is your garden starting to wind down or are you still running to keep up with harvesting your goodies? Pop on over to Facebook and let me know!