Earth Wangs!

As I was leaving work the other night, I noticed these little guys disrupting the mulch next to our parking lot.



These strange and phallac looking mushrooms are known as Mutinus caninus and are part of the Stinkhorn family.

Prior to this encounter, I had only ever seen photos of these things in my mushroom field guides, so you can imagine how excited I was so see them up close and in the flesh.

I'm a little curious about the edibility of these things. Some folks say they've heard stories of people eating them in the 'egg' stage, but for the most part it seems they're considered inedible or of no interest.

Road Teas!

A few days ago, I was reading one of my favorite blogs when I stumbled onto an entry about Masonades.

I was so psyched on this idea that I went out and bought a box of 12 pint size mason jars. I came home, boiled up some water, and pulled out my giant storage of teas.


I ended up making a nice little variety, including wild sweet orange, gypsy earl green, kukicha, and wild berry. I also cut up some lemons and put together a few jars of lemonade for Josh.

I may have a new obsession.

Come Into the Mountains, Dear Friend

I found this little paperback on one of my many thrift store adventures. I was drawn to the cover and the wonderful little poems and illustrations inside. I am such a sucker for hippie dippy 70's poetry books like this.

That Roundhouse

"There is a need for radical changes in the way we plan for, design and build homes, to render them affordable and environmentally sustainable.

The planning system is largely a hangover from feudal attitudes towards land ownership. No towns are sustainable. Most countryside is losing humus, topsoil and biodiversity. Several generations have now grown up in towns and cities, with very few survival skills and little appreciation of our essential connection with the earth and with nature.

I consider these problems to be critical and fundamental. What l and my partner decided to do about it was to build our own eco-home on a farm being run as a sustainable community, using the principles of permaculture to give us a home with a 'one planet' ecological footprint and right livelihood. l also designed the house to be beautiful and comfortable, so that others might be inspired to do likewise.

This roundhouse challenges the false assumption that people are bad for the countryside, and dares you to ask for, and design for yourself, the home you deserve." -- Tony Wrench

For more info on Tony and Jane Faith, please check out their website That Roundhouse or this article from the BBC News.

Eliphante

Re-wilding

"I grew up with my extended family on a farm in suburban Long Island. Influenced by the back-to-the-land movement of the 1960's, my parents maintained an agricultural lifestyle as malls and supermarkets developed around us. We heated with wood, grew and canned our food and bartered plants for everything from shoes to dentistry.

Through a family friend, I was introduced to a network of people in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia who have responded to environmental concerns and predictions of societal collapse by moving to the wilderness. Most of my subjects live off-the-grid, build their homes from local materials, obtain their water from nearby streams and hunt, gather or grow their own food. I am intrigued by their desire for self-sufficiency and by the complexity of their relationship with the natural world." --Lucas Foglia

To see more of Lucas' work, check out his website:

www.lucasfoglia.com

Let Your Love Flow

Born Free

I saw this motorhome at the local Salvation Army this week.



Amen!

Kendall Murphy's America

A few years ago I randomly stumbled onto Kendall Murphy's Livejournal. I instantly fell in love.