Due to popular disgust with the spider photo, here is a file photo from the Grand Canyon. This is interesting orange stuff growing on the rocks at the observation platforms. The tour guide had an interesting name for it, which is long forgotten now. Anyway, I think it's lichen or perhaps moss or something.
This is a scary spider that has taken up residence outside my home office window. I have temporarily moved my office into the living room as a result. It is a sort of pretty orange color though, don't you think?
This is a file photo of Pauline, a goldfish Mary and I had. I think this photo may have been taken by Mary.
And what would any chrishiggins.com blog sequence be without weird close-ups of mushrooms? The instructions indicate I can get many more 'crops' after this one. I'm not sure I relish the harvesting process.
A week ago I noticed little button mushrooms growing, maybe a half-inch wide. Today after forgetting to water them for a week, I opened their dank dark cupboard and found so many mushrooms, I had to remove a shelf to get the box out.
This is a view of the compost inside the box. I then added the 'casing' which is French for 'gross mixture of dirt and fungus and water.' Then lots of gross mixing of the two, then put the box in a dark place and sprinkled water on it daily for about a month. Next up: mushrooms.
So Mary gave me this Mushroom Adventure kit for Christmas. Using it, one can grow mushrooms in one's own home! Tasty fungus for the eating. I opened the box, took out the instructions and all the icky bits, and set to work. Also pictured in background: Seagram's gin industrial sized bottle: 'it's the smoothest.'
