Updates On Three Fronts

 

First, a brief update on my wife's vehicle. The problem turned out not to be a fuel pump issue at all and one that was easily fixed. For some reason, the oil fill cap came off and bounced around upside down in a recess where it was located. This allowed a small amount of oil to spray the inside of the engine compartment and the heat of the engine burned that spilled oil and thus gave us the odor that we both though smelled like fuel. They cleaned up the engine compartment, changed the oil and put the cap back on in place and everything is right with the world. Perhaps due to the recent bruhaha with my vehicle, all was done free of charge. Of course they accused me of not putting on the cap but I have never opened the hood on that thing in the 5000 miles we have put on it since it was brand new from the factory. I suspect that it was never tight to begin with and engine vibrations caused it to eventually come loose. 

Finally, a month late, my asparagus crowns came in and so I tilled up a new bed near our garden. Asparagus is supposed to be something deer won't eat if other things are readily available so for right now, it is outside our fenced in area. If the deer show me and the asparagus disrespect, I can always but another chunk of fencing and expand it to include the asparagus bed. 

After planting all 20 crowns, a mix of green and purple, I obtained some mulched and covered the bed to help preserve the moisture. Although I worked in a bunch of compost and garden soil into the plot, it still had a fair amount of dense clay so we'll see how it does. This is my first time to every plant asparagus. When my mom planted the other bed, I was in my a young buck in my mid 20's. 

May 6

This was my garden the day I planted the asparagus. The potatoes are really taking hold along with the transplanted daikon radishes. In the background you can see some of the strawberries, onions and lettuce. Hard to see between the onions and lettuce are carrots and peas. In the foreground are dry shell beans that haven't yet poked up out of the ground.

Sitting in church, I overhead someone mention they had their best day of morel mushroom hunting in years. I resolved to give it one more try and so the following day, set out to a farm where I had hunted and found many a mushroom in my youth but haven't really hunted in 20 years or so. I indeed found the mushrooms above but alas, they weren't the ones I was looking for. I wasn't skunked this year but for all practical purposes I might as well have been. Three morel mushrooms don't go a long way on the dining table.

I did find a pretty fancy game camera setup. It had a solar panel to charge it and a wire and antenna I presume to send the picture of me taking a picture of it to whomever installed it. The hunting rights to this place and all the rest of our farm are sold to some deer hunters from a distant state. I'm not sure if this is theirs or a poacher. I left it for now and moved on. Not far away was a hunting blind perched on a nearby knoll. 

While I didn't find any morels, I did find signs that the season is about over. When the mayapples get about knee high, I know that yellow morel season is just about over. There is supposed to be a rain tonight and another storm in a couple days with plenty of warm sunshine on either side of them. But moisture is adequate already for morels so I don't think the coming week will improve my odds any.