Photo courtesy of Bianca Durrant
The parasitic nature of sulfur shelf, also known as “chicken of the woods”, means that it can sometimes embrittle the host tree to the point of collapse. By eating this fungi, you are doing the tree a favor.
By Bianca Durrant
Turnagain Times
Hope Correspondent
The shift is evident in the tips of the balsam poplars. Ever so subtly, the yellows are taking root. It’s a time for gathering and giving thanks for the land that sustains us. It’s a time to look forward to rainy season projects. But wait; don’t give up on summer yet. There is still time to play in the hills and ride your bikes. Just be ready to get going at the first ray of sunlight, who knows how long it will last.
Mycopian Delights
Many of you may have noticed strangers walking around your yard wielding large butcher knives. As a result of many consecutive rainy days, mushroom edibles are having a prolific year and these people you see walking around are looking for edibles to collect. Foragers have been finding many a boletus, sulfur shelf, and hericium out in these woods. Be sure you have correctly identified the mushroom as edible before you go and add garlic and butter, the consequences could be more severe than just a mere bellyache. Look for king boletus under spruce and especially where sphagnum mosses are present. Hericium varieties tend to prefer cottonwood stumps. And if strangers with knives are of concern, kindly direct them to another area.
Back to School
August 24 is the official first day back to school. Hope Happenings remembers a time when school began after Labor Day but we digress. Students will be returning to a school schedule of 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and they will be welcoming the new school secretary, Sara Fortin. Hope School anticipates 18 students for the 2010-2011 school year.
Museum News
The following is a museum report from Diane Olthius:
Mark Aug. 20 and 21 on your calendar because the Hope and Sunrise Historical Society is sponsoring two great events that weekend. At the Social Hall on Friday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. there will be a staged reading of a compilation of Hope letters written during the 1964 earthquake. The director is theater producer and long-time Hope property owner Marybeth Bielawski-DeLeo. It is a project close to her heart because she was in Anchorage during the Big One. The reader is Elizabeth Ware, the actress who wowed Hope last year with her play, “Libby.” Donations of cookies and money are welcome. On Saturday, Aug. 21, at noon, everyone is invited to attend a historical society potluck and program. If the sun is shining the event will be a picnic on the museum grounds. If the weather is not picnic-friendly, the festivities will be relocated to the Social Hall. The guest speaker is Dr. Jane Haigh, of Kenai Peninsula Community College. She will speak on gold rush cabin interiors or Soapy Smith. Haigh may have an answer to the question, “Did legendary conman Soapy Smith visit Hope?”
Hope Happenings would like to add that Jane Haigh has been a historian in Alaska for many years. She was recognized as the Alaska Historian of the Year in 2006.
Hope Happenings
We want to know your thoughts, ideas, and methods. Contact Hope Happenings at: hopehappenings@live.com.
Final Word for Senator Ted Stevens
Before we leave, we would like to add a shout out of appreciation to the late, great Sen. Ted Stevens. With words of wisdom that we could all use in our everyday life, it was he who coined the phrase, “To hell with politics, just do what’s right.” Ah yes, so we shall try.
