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
Kathy
Here's your mushroom.
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/phallus_rubicundus.html
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.
.
Tammy
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
Maura :)