In The Woods

We come across things in the woods, we are lucky because the land only had two owners before us(and one of them was a timber company) so objects that are human made are less likely to abandoned or buried in the forest. Once in a great while we find heavy steel logging cable that had broken during use and rolled up around an old snag to keep it out of the way. This would be a remnant of the clear cut that was done 100 years ago with the help of a temporary railroad system, high-lead logging cables, and steam powered equipment referred to as ‘donkeys’.

Mostly we find stumps from some of those massive old growth Douglas firs that one dominated the Pacific Northwest, their decaying bases still showing the cuts that were made by the loggers to insert springboards so the tree could be cut high above the swelled butt area that was too big to cut through. We come across those trees that fell naturally and have become habitat for many a forest creature and fodder for mushrooms. We, or rather the dogs find moles and dig them up. Once in a while they find a slow chipmunk or go chase off a deer that wanders by. We see lots of deer and elk nuggets around all the footy prints they make and occasionally see coyote and bear scat.

I found a trio of squishy tidbits as Mike was blazing a new trail with the bulldozer. They had rolled to the side as the blade cut through the carpet of fir needles into the fine soil below.

They are immature truffles, if they had been left undisturbed for another month or two they would have given off a ripe, sweet smell telling the rodents in the area that lunch was about ready to be served.

After cleaning them up, I cut into one of them and found the inside to have fine cells like a sponge for they have not yet formed the structure that looks more like a brain when ripe.

I still had to find out if these were viable for consumption with any flavor at all. A nibble of one gave a very slight representation of the famous truffle flavor. Right now the three are infusing a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to be used on a salad in a few days. I’m hoping that the nuggets exude enough of their essence to enhance my meal.