We went for a little mushroom hunting walk in the woods a couple of weeks ago and this is what we found. The colors and textures amaze me. Unfortunately, none of these are particularly edible. If my father is reading this: Dad, please know that we absolutely draw the line at eating any wild mushroom that has a close cousin that will either make us sick or worse! Anyway, we have a favorite wooded spot along a small creek which often plays host to a bloom of hedgehog mushrooms (Hydnum repandum). Hedgehogs are a distinctively meaty variety that have little spines instead of gills. And they are prized for both their taste and their texture. We didn’t find any that day. Maybe this weekend we’ll get lucky. The last image is from the farmers’ market at the ferry building in San Francisco. Fantasy land.

The Nature of America stamp series from the USPS comprises 12 distinct ecosystems. The scenes are illustrated by John D. Dawson. My all-time favorite is/was the Northeastern Deciduous Forest panel. No surprise there. Sadly, these are not really available any longer. I saw a few for sale on amazon and ebay, but that’s it. I was about to finally throw out these empty panes, until I realized how much I liked them, even without their stamps.

That a baby porcupine is called a porcupette? As words go, that one is pretty great. Photo by the lovely, animal-obsessed Sharon Montrose.

I feel more than fortunate to be able to spend time in both country and city. The contrast between rural and urban gives rise to an appreciation of place that I am not sure I would possess otherwise. I was looking at my photos from the summer and was so struck by the visual world I have just left behind. My husband took that first photograph of the young buck. The deer was fearless and refused to abandon his patch of ground full of fallen apples. That last photo was taken on Grand Street in lower Manhattan. A different sort of beauty.

Meet Jennifer, Lester and their squash. I know this looks improbable, and thoughts may quickly turn to Photoshop. But I would caution you not to be so skeptical. This pumpkin is very real. And, at the time of the photo, it weighed in at a staggering 700 pounds. Jennifer and her husband Andrew own Eminence Road Farm Winery in upstate NY. Their fabulous wines (they are unfined, unfiltered and are all bottled by hand) have become a hallmark of our entertaining. They also grow vegetables, are great cooks and Jennifer pickles a mean ramp. Lester helps out when he can.