Fall and Mushrooms

"The very idea of true patriotism is lost, and the term has been prostituted to the very worst of purposes. A patriot, sir! Why, patriots spring up like mushrooms!"

-Robert Walpole

Starting to feel a little like fall out there.

Still too warm, 63 now and forecast to hit the low 80s by the afternoon. But the leaves are starting to turn along the crests of the hills, and on these days when Peg goes to work we awaken and drink our coffee in darkness as the days grow shorter.

The next three months or so have always been my favorite of the year. I love the change outside, the brilliant color of a northeastern autumn, fall sports traditions like the Bills and the World Series, gray Saturdays spent cooking with P with a fire in the fireplace, Halloween and Thanksgiving. All of that resonates with a gloomy old soul like me.

At the Andover Farmer's Market this past weekend P and I engaged with a chatty mushroom farmer from Gloucester, and ended up buying a bag of goo he promised would grow into a couple cuttings of exotic mushrooms. He told us what would sprout, but now I don't recall. Maybe a golden oyster? We told him about our failed attempt at growing mushrooms from a starter purchased from a family of hippies from over in Waverly, and after listening to our account he concluded we'd overwatered them, and suggested this time we simply cut a few slits in the bag and put it next to a humidifier. We followed his advice, and set up the bag and humidifier on the kitchen counter on Sunday afternoon. By Tuesday, we had this.

Actually, they've changed even since Peg left for work a couple hours ago, getting bigger and turning distinctly yellow. P suggested that we reward the little buggers for their efforts by inviting them to join us for a little pasta and mushroom sauce for supper. A lovely fall meal.

That Walpole quote probably led you to believe I'd ramble about our awful political moment for the umpteenth time, but what would be the point? Better to focus on the fungus growing in our kitchen than the fecund rot emanating from our failed political system.