[View of the garden from Gargoyle Lounge, my new morning tea spot]
We are an aching bunch today. Yesterday's weather report told of rain without end so we ran around to make sure the land is really ready.
We bucked and chopped two more truckloads of standing dead wood from the forest, hauled it to Garden House (the main community cabin) and stacked it in the shed. Then we gave the thirsty bridge another coat of waterseal and put away everything we could find. I finished collecting pine needles for my cabin's kindling just in time for dinner.
[Dead Man's Foot fungus sticking out of the ground beneath the Naraya tree]
As I was collecting, I looked down and noticed a fungus sticking out of the ground. It's called Dead Man's Foot, Pisolithus arrhizus, and it yields a beautiful dye for wool. The colors can range from a deep brown to yellow. (http://www.bayareamushrooms.org/mushroommonth/pisolithus.html) I wish I had known that we have it on the land. These last few weeks were the perfect time to scour the pine forest floor for it. I might brave the rain and do it anyhow.
Our rushed preparation seems to have been warranted. It's raining so hard today that we have runoff already. The weather report still shows no signs of the rain letting up.
[Mishka, the amazing land mechanic, getting us ready for mowing season]
Mishka left for a much-needed break. She just can't stop herself from crawling underneath our vehicles when she's around here. Her departure leaves us with less than 10 people on the land to prepare for the big gathering. We're talking about organizing a "work party", oxymoronic as it sounds. We'll be serving hot fruit!
My bobbin winder came yesterday, so today will be the first rainy-weather craft and storytelling circle in the weaving cabin.
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