Of Brumbies and Mushrooms

Sunday, June 28, 2009


Husband at the farm alert! Today Brandon came with me to see Lilly. He knows she's a very good animal, but he's fine going days, even weeks, without seeing her. So it was a nice treat to have him come along on the trail. He's a mushroom hunter, so we were able to see a few different mushrooms on our journey. Here is a Suillus. You can tell a little creature was nibbling at it because of the hole!


Here is the view I had on the trail. Lilly liked following Brandon around. When ever he stopped to look at a mushroom, my brumby would get very close and look too. At first Brandon didn't like her that close to him. But she was being so cute that finally he stopped minding.


Hah! Not a great picture in terms of composition with Brandon coming out of Lilly's ear. Or, does it look like Lilly is holding Brandon in her mouth? Hah ha!! This is how our hike went: lots of ambling, and then stopping and peering. Just the way my brumby likes it!


Here is Lilly and Brandon looking carefully at a Russula. What would happen if Lilly took a big bite of this mushroom? I'll bet she'd spit it out. These mushrooms taste very bad.



Here is the new bit that I am trying out. The reins here are in the non-leverage loop. Below the circular loop is the little teardrop-shaped loop in case I need to switch. Lilly did just fine with this bit today. There is an article in Horse&Rider this month about using the right bit. Sometimes articles can be so dramatic about making sure you use the absolutely correct bit. I like Bill's style much better. He just said: Try it and see if you like it.


There is Lilly in the back waiting for me as I scramble over to this Ganoderma lucidum. This mushroom is commonly called the mushroom of immortality. Some believe that this mushroom has the power to raise the dead! And look, here it is trailside!

I love how my brumby just waits for me as I am doing other things. I know not every horse will do this, especially since at this point we are pretty close to being back at the barn. Another horse may have seized the opportunity to trot on home. I try to never take any of her good behavior for granted. As Clinton says, if they have the energy to do the right thing, they also have it to do the wrong thing.


Here are some truffles (Elaphomyces granulatus) that Brandon found on the trail. He only knew they were there because it looked like some other creature had been snuffling around in that spot. I put a penny in the photo to show how small they are.

That's it! Weekend is over! That sure doesn't make me happy.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the mushrooms - and the detailed identifications. I like how your brumby will stand and wait for you - my Maisie will do the same!

juliette said...

This is the best post ever! I love everything...the mushroom identification by Brandon...Lilly inspecting the mushroom with Brandon, Lilly standing and waiting (Pie and Sovey would NOT do this!)... and finally, the truffles. How does Brandon know all this - (sorry if I missed a post that explained!).

Paint Girl said...

That is so neat that Brandon went out on a trail ride with you and Lilly. Years ago, my OH had to walk in front of Brandy, just to get her off my property. She'd freak at everything if he wasn't there. Now I can get her to go pretty much everywhere.
You have some pretty cool mushrooms! And colorful ones!

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