This And That

First of all, 
I have to ask you....
Have you seen this fun guy?


Oops, wrong picture!
That was Leo, our new barn kitty.

I mean this funghi....


Have you ever seen anything this bizarre?
It is some sort of mushroom,
that Becky found growing next to her barn.

The stem is spongey and hollow...


And the top...
slimey and smelly...
disgusting, actually.


This is truly the strangest mushroom I have seen in my entire life.
How about you?
Have you ever seen one like this?
Do you know anything about it?
I assume it is poisonous...
and besides, you couldn't pay me enough to eat this one!!!

Today is a very exciting day at the farm.
We break ground for a new indoor riding arena.

This field, between the barn and the pastures...


will soon house a two tone grey steel barn that we will use for
hay storage, tractor storage, and riding in inclement and cold weather.

It will look similar to this, but larger....



When the weather is nice, we ride here....



and around our pastures...


and back this trail into our woods....


But once snow and ice come, we stop riding.
This new arena will give Becky and I the ability to ride all winter long!
And we are so, so, so excited!!

Lately, Becky has been busy constructing a cross country course
near our wooded trails.
She is building jumps, and ramps, and ditches.
This particular one is a work in progress.
There will be evergreen bushes planted between each jump....
Three different heights that will give the rider the option of running up and jumping off,
or approaching from the front and jumping up onto the top.


(Not my cup of tea...as I am a rider who prefers all feet on the ground,
and preferably at a rather slow pace!
The trails suit me just fine.)

I think this guy prefers to keep all feet on the ground, too!
I can't imagine a jumping Haflinger... especially this chubby guy!



I thought I would show you a bit of autumn around the house....
mums bursting into bloom...


pumpkins and gourds throughout the gardens....


And the purple beauty berry bushes are at their best....


This is definitely my favorite time of year!
You say I just said that 3 months ago?
And six months ago, too?
Well, I do love the change of seasons,
don't you?

Comments

Debi said…
That is a very strange fungi. It looks like carrots dipped in chocolate. Fall is here, but no real color change yet a my place. Fantastic - an indoor riding ring. My Ally travels to a friend who has one not far for the inclement weather. Hopefully it will cool off for a lot more riding time. Glad to see Leo out of the barn snooping around. He is very photogenic.
Anke said…
That is the weirdest looking fungi I have ever seen. At first I thought you had dipped a carrot into chocolate... You must be very excited about the new barn. How nice will that be come winter time! I do love the change of seasons and am really enjoying those cooler mornings and the fall colors.
KatyDidStitches said…
That's the first thing I thought, too...carrots dipped in chocolate. Could be strangely yummy. I mean, chocolate-covered potato chips are TDF, right? However, after reading your description of the thing...I've lost my appetite for carrots...and chocolate...and especially the two of them together.

Kathy
Anonymous said…
oooh, love love love fall mums! Their colors are a bit muted and delicious... the fun guy (funghi) on the other hand is not so delicious. I do love photographing the stuff though. Orange you glad you captured it in your lens?? LOL
Carla said…
Lots of lovely things happening at your place. We're still hitting 100* with no rain.
Here's your mushroom.
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/phallus_rubicundus.html
dr momi said…
I looked that up CeeCee....interesting. It's common name is the "stinkhorn" well I guess that says it all!!! LOL
This N That said…
They are gross..I've seen them everywhere...They are called stinkhorns....see below..(I couldn't copy the picture..)

Stinkhorns, listed as not poisonous, are never eaten. All one has to do is ponder their name for the answer as to why.

These smelly, horn-shaped fungi are usually found growing in landscaped areas where mulch, particularly shredded bark, has been applied. Stinkhorn spores land in the bark and grow into underground egg-shaped structures, using nutrients from decomposing bark. When conditions are most favorable, the horn grows out of the egg within a few hours, usually at night or early morning. Flies are attracted to the spores that develop on the smelly horns and carry the spores to other locations. Within a day or so all evidence of these fungi has disappeared.
.
Deb said…
That is disgusting but I love fun-guy.
Unknown said…
Love the flowers, gourds and ugg...what a nasty looking mushroom..don't think anyone would eat that let alone touch it!
Tammy said…
I have those fungi (or something similar)growing in my flower beds. They emerge new every day and then by afternoon they are dead. Very bizarre! I love that last pic you posted. What is it??

Tammy
Bee Haven Bev said…
Tammy, that bush is called a Purple Beautyberry bush. It is soooooo lovely in the fall. I have five of them in my front landscaping because I just love the look this time of year....vibrant purple!!
Kelly said…
I remember your Purple Beautyberry pictures from last year too. Thanks, they are so beautiful. Now, that fungus thing can just go away. At first I thought carrots and chocolate but after the name. NOPE! I love each season too. I love winter till about March. Then it should be spring, but not in Maine. Can't wait to see your new arena. How cool.
Dianne said…
That's the strangest mushroom ever! Have never seen one like it.

If I were riding that cute little guy...don't think I'd ask him to do any jumping! Would want to end up getting thrown!

Dianne
www.mysouthernheart.com
OH gosh Bev...now I'm really excited after reading about your INDOOR riding arena AND the cross country course. I love that you'll be able to ride all winter...even when it snows and you'll be warm and dry! I'm with you...I like all 4 feet of my mount on the ground thank you very much. Those trails look wonderful and it would still be fun to try a few smaller obstacles on the course. Another blogger I follow showed those mushrooms and even looked them up for us but I can't remember what she said! They look like something you'd see on the Smurfs ;) Enjoy your day.
Maura :)
luckybunny said…
that is weird. I'm always looking for new mushrooms here and finding odd ones, but these take the prize for strange, even over the strange ones I've found in Alaska. I'm going to check out the link on them and read about it. Thanks for sharing!