Following the worst summer on record, the best autumn on record seems appropriate. This morning I woke again to the most relaxing sound in the world, rain on the roof - this morning’s fall ticked us over 300mm for the year so far. The speed at which the landscape changes is remarkable, where in December the only water in the landscape was a muddy puddle at the bottom of the bigger dams, now it feels like it’s hard to walk around the farm and keep your feet dry. Here are some photos that show the change over the last few months. The photos on the left were all taken around Christmas/New Year 2019, those on the right were taken today.
The paddocks have a new softness to them, underfoot and to the eye, and they’re dotted with white mushrooms and all kinds of water-loving autumn fungi.
Autumn rain always brings on the mushrooms, but this year has been the biggest crop we have seen in many years, and the range of species is mind boggling. Most go unidentified but I’ve found good forums on facebook which are an amazing resource for putting a name to the ones that pique our interest (and also provide good entertainment when hasty people eat mushrooms before they get a positive ID).
Unfortunately we haven’t found any new edible mushrooms yet, so outside of our usual field mushrooms (Agaricus campestris), saffron milk caps (Lactarius deliciosus) and slippery Jacks (Suillus luteus) we haven’t had a chance to try anything new. We have a lead on a Russula sp. that grows in the pine forests around the farm, but I haven't been game yet…
Murray Watson 11/04/2020