Mr. Mycelium and the Mushrooms

A couple of weeks ago, local mushroom cultivator Michael Johnson allowed into his backyard grow shed to take some photos as he prepared and harvested his crop of Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms. It was a great way to kick off the work week cycle, hanging out amongst the shelves of Shiitakes on a sunny, comfortable Wednesday morning. Johnson hopes to make regular customers for his mushrooms of some of the local chefs in and around Vero Beach. I have to admit, I like the idea of eating fresh mushrooms from right up the road rather than re-hydrated Shiitakes trucked in from who knows where (though I'm probably not enough of a mushroom connoisseur to actually discern a difference in quality). Interesting note: the mushroom grow shed doesn't smell moldy or rotten like one might expect. Rather, the scent was reminiscent of wood shavings on a foggy morning mingled with what, to me, smelled like the insides of a freshly carved jack-o'-lantern.

Morning on the Ranch

The other day I woke up early to go spend the morning on a ranch west of town with local artist/poet/rancher Sean Sexton. It was a nice change of pace.