Amy Smith Linton
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Me. Me. Me.
  • Publications
  • That 1st Novel
  • More!
  • Contact

Shroomage...Would-Be Fungus Farming

3/29/2016

4 Comments

 
Some things I have learned about growing mushrooms: fungi digest their meals before ingesting them. Freaky deaky.

It goes like this: fungus grows in a colony. A colony (the parts you don't see, usually) sends out cells that figure out what's for dinner. The fungus produces the appropriate enzymes and sweats these compounds into their general area. Complicated carbohydrates (wood, leaf-litter, manure, coffee grounds, old clothes) get broken into smaller components and then yum-yum-yum, the non-plant absorbs basic building blocks of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and so forth, transforming material into delicious meals for themselves.

Most of this happens under the surface of stuff. When a log gets punky and papery, for instance, it's probably because fungi has colonized and mostly digested the good stuff from it. 

The part of the fungi that we do see? The odd grey growths on the sides of dead trees, the circles of orange toadstools, the package of vaguely phallic objects in the produce section of a grocery store? These caps and stems are the final stage of growth for some fungi. 

When fungi produce mushrooms, it's called "fruiting."
Picture
And such fruit!

Varieties are blue or tan or yellow, tiiineensie or largo, spiky or smooth. Something edible for everyone: 
Shiitake, oyster mushrooms, portobellos, truffles, morels, hen-of-the-woods, maitake, lion's mane, nameko, blewit, wood-ear, enoki, blacktop, shaggy mane, tiger sawgill, scaly lentinus, hairy panus, turkey tail, king stropharia, parasol, elm oyster, the choices are legion.   

Me, I am not a fan. As my mother said of meatloaf: "Everyone has her own recipe, but it all tastes the same." Still, other people enjoy mushrooms. They buy them and everything.

And as it happens, mushrooms might be another one of the crops that might thrive without a constant gardener looking after it. So that's part of our new neural pathway this spring at the Would-Be Farm: mushroom cultivation. I look forward to reporting details when we've accomplished something. 
4 Comments

Musical Selection: EL VY

3/25/2016

4 Comments

 
Maybe it's perhaps a genetic predisposition that makes a person lean toward word-playful, irony-appreciating deep-voiced performers. John Gorka, dude. Leonard Cohen. Richard Shindell. Jeesh. Talk about Wonderbread white. But alas. 

Perhaps it started with the environment. For me, those long, looooong school-bus rides listening to dopey 1970's music on the radio. Thank you, Mrs. Gamble, by the way, you were a pretty cool bus-driver.  I only wish I could erase Wildfire from my inner jukebox.

With that said, when this came on the NPR Tiny Desk Concert, I was captivated. On the third listen, I browsed what passes for the liner notes and realized of course. This is the same guy I wanted to hear when he was the lead singer for The National. Sigh. 

Short on time? Skip to the area of 8:45 for "Need a Friend." It's amazing how over-produced their album sounds on this particular tune.
My favorite skipper, however, not a fan. Hmmm. He favors the B-52's and the Doors and rarely accepts a substitute. 
​

Side-note: I categorically deny ANY interest in hearing even one more thoughtful/sensitive singer-songwriter with three names. That third name seems to break the bass spell.  
4 Comments

Wild Beastie Domestification

3/22/2016

10 Comments

 
Picture
This time of year, when not perusing seed catalogues, a farmer -- even a Would-Be Farmer -- allows her thoughts to turn lightly toward the origins of farming.  Again.  

It was ingenious to plant a seed and watch over it, lo those 13,000 years ago, but it was absolutely gonzo brainiac to take up animal husbandry. 

Imagine 
that campfire brainstorming session: 

Proto-farmer 1:"Hey, hey –– I know! Let's capture one of those boars and put it in a cage. Then we won't have to hunt it later!"

Proto-farmer 2: "Keep a tusker live? Sounds risky. Howsabout we get us a bunch of goats and steal their milk?"

Another thinker around the fire (who never ends up doing anything like farming, by the way): "Goats? Goats is for sissies, I think yaks are where it's gonna be at..."


Granted, humans tamed wild dogs as far back as 30,000 years ago -- but that was more a hunting partnership than a farming proposition. (Check out this Radio Lab episode about how quickly foxes can be selected for tameness!)
Wholesale domestication started around 11,000 years ago, according to the latest thinking. 11,000 years ago is only a few generations after plant farming had begun. Taming various wild prey animals -- sheep, bees, duck, goats, guinea pigs, llama, cattle –– could not have been easy; go face down a white goose or a tom turkey and then let's talk about, say, a water buffalo.

I'm not exaggerating. The first cows in Europe, aurochs? Seriously, the stuff of nightmares: 1500 lbs of leggy temper, six feet tall at the shoulder and a horn-span of up to seven feet. Categorically NOT tame. The last specimen of the species lived until 1627 in the forests of Poland. She died in the interest of steak, not so surprisingly. 

I just wonder at the gall of the first person to put a thieving hand upon the hairy udder of a wild cow. What could possess a person to try? A dare, maybe? Or maybe impelled by a rescue effort –– a calf or a human baby who needed that milk enough to risk the effort? Some dramatic extremity, no doubt.

Unnatural selection has led from these wild and wooly forebears come the sweet-tempered Jerseys and Gurnseys, and those homey black-and-white gold standards of milk production –– Holsteins.

Me? No, I don't want another cow in my life. I know the ways of young Holsteins from many a winter's day dealing with scours in a veal calf. And there was a year or so when my mother and I swapped the care of a hairy herd of Highland cows for the rent of an old farmhouse. Small cattle, Highland cows, but feisty.

​Anyway, enough cattle for my lifetime.

Maybe.

​But goats, now, huh. Goats...
Picture
10 Comments

Gone...Sailing.

3/14/2016

0 Comments

 
The blog will be on hiatus for a bit while I attend to some foredeck work...
​Flickr Photo Album from one of my favorite sailing photographers, Bill Clausen.
0 Comments

Sprinting Spawn of Frankenscot

3/8/2016

18 Comments

 
Everglades Challenge. Spawn
Ninjee and TwoBeers rolling sails. Morsailesed (out of frame) is tying up the boat.
To the sound of cheering crowds (modern-day crowds, that is –– the noise a swellign crescendo of plasticky key clicks) Spawn of Frankenscot arrived safe and sound in Key Largo 1 day, 12 hours, and 46 minutes after starting the 2016 Everglades Challenge. 

They were the first boat to finish and they broke the previous monohull record by 12 hours. Click-click-click hurrah! Social media applauds!

Here's a gorgeous short video of the team –– shot by Ninjee's cousin Simon Lew via helicopter over the Gulf of Mexico.
They were fortunate in the conditions. The wind stayed mostly abeam or aft, so that they were running or reaching about 75% of the course, with only a few chunks of rowing against the tide (like at the Indian River Pass), and short slogs upwind with crew on the wire. 
Picture
All three –– though they know better –– removed their drysuits on Saturday in anticipation of a hot, light-air afternoon off Sarasota.  

Of course, the wind piped up, the sea-state became spirited, and in the mischievous nature of salt water, a big wave completely soaked them.

At least one of the sailors put his dry suit back on without the benefit of any clothes. It was, shall we say, a bold move to avoid chafe.

​Lessons learned.
The Spawnsters barely had time to snack during the trip, though they wouldn't have starved: an unfortunate Spanish mackerel, leaping boisterously from the water somewhere out in the dark blue empty, landed with a surprising thud in the cockpit in the middle of Saturday night. The team trained their headlights onto the piscatorial visitor.  "What is it and where should I grab it?" Moresailesed inquired before flinging it (by the least harmful corner of its tail) back into the sea.

The mighty yacht herself landed with a thud from time to time in that last stretch of what navigators call "skinny water." Florida Bay (Rod Koch describes it as "lunar") is shallow and full of both mucky sand and hard coral.  Said boat designer Ninjee, "I didn't realize how much running aground we would be doing." Discussion of a stainless-steel leading edge on the centerboard followed. 

Spawn disturbed at least one hazard of the course: a 7-foot-long shark had the startle of its weekend when the boat passed over it in about 2 feet of water. "It looked like an explosion of mud behind us," said TwoBeers.
Picture
After a solid nine hours of sleep, as they were eating breakfast and de-rigging the boat, Ninjee, TwoBeers, and Morsailesed started hashing over the voyage.  

They had ideas about where they might have navigated better, how they might have saved a few tacks, how they might improve the performance of the boat. Warm discussions about possible centerboard and rudder modifications followed.

​Other things might have been covered, but this shore crew retired for more catching up on her sleep. 
​​ 
Special thanks to Ensign RumsDown, who IS a driving Ninja and generous friend.

As he announced to the team in a manly bellow from the shore of Chockoloskee (after Mary and I had warbled "I love you" across the starry, echoing darkness)  "I LIKE YOU!"  Really do.
18 Comments

Everglades Challenge: Where is Spot?

3/5/2016

3 Comments

 
In 2014, when my sweet husband competed in his first Everglades Challenge, it was nerve-wracking to try to follow his progress. Although the personal tracker (required by the competition's rules) was working, the device had a tendency to flip over and stop transmitting to its satellite.  So the team would drop off the map for some chunks of time. 

This year, I am very happy to say the tracker is on track!
Spawn Spot Track 2016
A little modification to the deck is proving to work quite well -- the SPOT nestles into a recessed cup on the back deck, clipped into place. 
Picture
I post this 14 or so hours into the race, and while there are no other boats in their division (three-person team in a monohull), they are at the front of the pack. The WaterTribe site tracking map has been up and down, though here's a screenshot from a few minutes ago...Click on the map for the link.
Picture
Keeping fingers crossed.
3 Comments

Everglades Challenge...Lights! Camera! Action!

3/4/2016

14 Comments

 
Setting: Fort DeSoto Park, current day.

Slow pan across the expanse of sugary white sand beach to the horizon of water. 

Dolly in on row of assorted water vessels lining the high-tide line.

Cue the music.

​And...it's go-time for the Everglades Challenge once again.

​Human- and wind-powered craft will take to the water at sun-up Saturday, March 5 on Fort DeSoto Beach. They will flap, paddle, pedal, and luff their way along the west coast of Florida and through the Everglades to Key Largo. 300 miles of self-contained, human-powered expedition racing. And adventures. 

For the Spawn team of TwoBeers, Ninjee, and Moresailesed, we hope those adventures are light on hypothermia, injury, saltwater crocs, tornadic winds –– and heavy on natural beauty, funny comments, and rip-roaring boat performance. 
Picture
The WaterTribe website tries to provide a real-time map of the competitors' geographical locations. It has bogged down pretty readily in the past, but the link is here. Or click on the image of the map below. (Ain't technology grand?!)
Picture
I know I will be hitting "refresh" at a slightly unhealthful rate while the fellas are away from land.

I'll try to update the team's progress on the Frankenscot Facebook page. Keep in mind that even as we shadow Spawn's track on shore, we will be in and out of cell/internet coverage, but the shoreside team (ERD, Bookworm, and Ms. Ninjee) will do our best.

​Good luck to all the WaterTribe!


Picture
14 Comments

Everglades Challenge: Gearing Up

3/1/2016

14 Comments

 
Picture
When Spawn takes to the water this coming weekend, we can hope the creature does so in style.

Oh, I'm not talking about crispy new sails or all those lovely electronics that had to be re-purchased after they failed their swim test in February.  

Nuh uh. I'm talking fashion.

For instance, the bedazzling of Spawn.

The nice UPS folks delivered a big fat roll of super reflective tape last week –– the kind favored by firefighters and highway road-signs –– which I have been slathering all over Spawn and her crew's gear...Ooooh, sparkly!

A strip on the transom, check. A matched pair at the bow, check. Stripes at the mast-tip, boom end, and at neatly spaced intervals on the racks. Check, check check. Dots on the dry-suits, dots on the life-jackets, ovals on the trapeze harnesses. And of course, wide bands at the end of the oars.  The phrase "lit up like a Christmas tree" drifts to mind.

The name graphics are in place on the side of the boat.

We'll see how long vinyl from FedEx lasts in direct sunlight. (P.S., the boat also proudly sports its new FL registration numbers!

​Thank you Tim K. for the connection that helped us get legal.)
Picture
Picture
And because it's not really a sports team without uniforms, there are Spawn shirts aplenty. While racing, the sailors will be wearing safety-orange long-sleeve sports shirts.

​Photos don't do justice to the racing shirt's DayGlo spectacularity. Think prison jumpsuits. Think highway construction workers. Think Bananarama! in 1985.

Thanks to Carol at CDM Gifts who did the sublimation printing. (Sublimation printing is the process that allows for quick and permanent printing on polyester. Kind of amazing.) And why would I want polyester? In a word, sun protection.  

And thank you Leslie Fisher at Masthead Enterprises for connecting me with Carol! 

The Spawnsters each have a nifty embroidered ballcap from kindly supporter Ned J., who reads the blog from Maine when he can't be sailing in warmer climes.  They are even personalized with our WaterTribe names! Thank you, Ned and Anne!

There's also an array of functional accessories, such as waterproof bags and, notably, bailing devices.  

We scrounged empty laundry detergent containers, modified them with a handy survival knife (required by the Everglades Challenge rules –– for good reason!), and then did a bathtub test. Gain turned out to do the best job at conveying a gallon of water from one place to another.

The bathtub remains pleasantly scented and untroubled by static cling.  
Picture
Picture
Unlike so many modern fashionistas, Team Spawn has free range of the snack aisle.

They will have granola bars, breakfast shakes, hearty meat rolls, and homemade goodies like beef jerky and these cashew-dried-cherry dark chocolate bars.

...Assuming they remember to fuel the machines. All three are what dog-training professionals would call "Not food motivated."  

PictureGear explosion!




Picture
And in the four remaining days (Ah! Ah! Ahhhh!), Captain TwoBeers will be figuring out how to stow all this stuff.

Spawn might be ripe for a closet makeover.

​Is there an HGTV show with this as the topic? How first-worldy a problem is that?
14 Comments

    ABout the Blog

    A lot of ground gets covered on this blog -- from sailboat racing to book suggestions to plain old piffle. 

    To narrow the focus, select one of the  Categories below.

    Follow

    Trying to keep track? Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or if you use an aggregator, click the RSS option below.

    RSS Feed

    Old school? Sign up for the newsletter and I'll shoot you a short e-mail when there's something new.

      Newsletter

    Subscribe to Newsletter

    Archives

    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    Categories

    All
    Beauty Products
    Big Parks Trip
    Birds
    Boatbuilding
    Books
    Brains
    Contest & Prize
    Dogs
    Everglades Challenge
    Family Stories
    Farming
    Fashion
    Feminism
    Fiction
    Fish
    Flowers
    Flying Scot Sailboat
    Food
    Genealogy
    Handwork
    Health
    History
    Horses
    I
    International Lightning Class
    Mechanical Toys
    Migraine
    Movie References
    Music
    Piffle
    Pigs And Pork
    Poems
    Sailboat Racing
    Sculpture
    Social Media
    Song
    Subconscious Messages And Dream
    Travel
    Wildlife
    Writing

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.