Soggy Slog

You know how, if you are like me, there is always an extra bag, box or carrier of some kind kicking around the backseat or trunk just in case you need it? I try to anticipate that I will find a need for something to carry armloads of things that I was not expecting to come across, like a super price reduction or garage sale. I do the same thing on the farm, I have my mushroom bucket, knife and the pair of farm boots that have the best gripping soles ready in the garage, just in case.

Such was the case yesterday, yes I know we are in the Atmospheric River sequence of storms that are rolling in from the ocean, and yes I know that the mushrooms are mushy from all the rain we are having. BUT when we were doing the morning chores, we noticed a couple of the calves that had the green weaning clips were missing from the feeding. Mike (he thinks like critters much better than me) said he believed the calves were up the canyon foraging for themselves since their mothers did not like them nosing around their udders with those green clips on.

After the feeding, I volunteered to walk up the trails to the head of the canyon to see if I could spot the calves and while I was at it would see if I could find any good Chanterelles. When I picked up my bucket and knife from the garage, Butler the dog knew that we were heading out on a mushroom hunt and began ‘talking’ his excited yawning yips and wagging his tail furiously. From then on all I would spot would be his back end as he spotted out possible mushrooms while we worked our way up the hill.

While the walk up was fairly slippery, Butler and I kept to the wildlife trails that had fallen leaves to give a little gripping power. We looked for the mushrooms, err, I mean calves studiously but did not find their footy prints or manure on the trails that we were walking along.

We did not find many Chanterelles either on this walk, most of them were way too degraded from the amount of rain that we are experiencing. The few we did find were ones that were just barely breaking the surface of the forest floor and made enough to add to our evening meal.

The walk down the hill became much more treacherous as the rain started up again in earnest. I was glad I was in full raingear as it made it easier to sit and slide down a couple of steep trails rather than try to walk them. My soggy slog did not give me the outcomes I wanted from either the calf hunt or the mushroom forage but by the evening feeding the calves were back with the main herd without intervention.