October Orbs

 Last Saturday, we took a day trip to Philomath to meet our friends Bob and Mary who traveled from Salem.  The plan was to have an early lunch at a Thai restaurant, and then spend the afternoon going to some artist studios that were having open house.  We arrived early, so Gail and I went to a great pumpkin patch before meeting our friends.

 

Proud owner of a new gourd.

These are concrete wine fermentation tanks.  They are supposed to be better than stainless steel because they breathe slightly and stay cooler.

One artist's examples of natural dye sources she uses to do floral prints, which were the best Gail has ever seen.

Fungus Wow

 While riding our bikes into town this morning, I spotted this big snag with several feet of brilliant fungi cascading down the trunk.

I fought my way through the undergrowth to get a closer look. I believe this could be Conifer Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus conifericola).

Fungi are so amazing.  Without them, we would be buried in plant debris.

Fence Fun

 Yesterday, Gail and I figured out what to do with our growing pile of river teeth and other pieces of found wood.  

We mounted the pieces to the fence with the idea of evoking the flow of the river.

Hmmm, which piece shall we do next.

To me, the pieces seem like salmon swimming up the river.

It was a fun project with Daisy looking on.  This time of the year is great.  Mowing, brush clearing, and watering have mostly ended, and the weather is still good.