In
Seaview, we have a few necessary skills to be a true local. These skills center around oysters, razor clams, salmon, crab, cranberries and mushrooms. (Note, I think chainsaws and tide tables are also on that list.) (I can add more- elk meat,
steelhead, sturgeon, tuna....) This year I decided to correct my lack of mushroom knowledge.
We have the perfect environment for mushrooms. Lots of moisture.
Once
I let one or two people know that I wanted to learn more- lock the doors! News travels fast! In some communities, zucchini will be found in unlocked cars- gifts from your neighbor. Here on the Long Beach Peninsula- we have mushrooms, smoked salmon, crab and cranberry gifts in the fall. We had mysterious fungi appearing at our doorstep, phone calls with offers of mushroom foraging walks, still more offers of mushrooms. But they will never tell you where to find them- as they like to say around here.... "if I told you, I would have to kill you." Mushrooms are serious stuff.
I am fortunate to have mushroom experts within a block or 2. I am able to pick up some tasty fungi while on a walk and stop by to get an expert opinion about the identification, consumption and favorite recipes.
This past month we have been blessed with many mushrooms. Gifts and those grown in the immediate area. I confess I get nervous about my identification abilities- so always get verification.
Many of the restaurants have mushroom dinners, guest speakers and events during the Wild Mushroom Festival. I attended a cooking class by Cynthia
Nims at The
Shelburne Inn. Cynthia prepared about 8 dishes, complimented with David
Campiche's narrative about mushrooms.
We are madly unpacking Holiday decorations and preparing for a photo shoot- which is now going to be on Monday. Brett wants to light the driveway for the Home Tour on Dec. 9- I saw this photo and suggested he do some shooting stars. We can weld up some stars and trail the tail down the lane.
When the summer tourists leave, you can spontaneously get a table at one of the awesome restaurants in the area. It is true that we are partial to The Depot.... for Chef Michael's menu and the close proximity to our place. The relaxed and community town hall type Burger Night on Wednesdays is a huge favorite. Create your own burger- I usually have a Portabello Mushroom. The Depot is now open 7 evenings a week, and Michael's fabulous menu includes some rather yummy desserts. 
At the Destination Pacific National Historic Workshop that I attended- (see March 2007 blog), Team Long Beach/Seaview worked on a plan to beautify the 'Gateway' to our communities. Months of planning, meeting, approval from WSDOT, designing, organizing and securing plants culminated with building a planting bed and planting along Highway 101. We worked over a number of weekends to finish the bulk of the heavy labor.
I let one or two people know that I wanted to learn more- lock the doors! News travels fast! In some communities, zucchini will be found in unlocked cars- gifts from your neighbor. Here on the Long Beach Peninsula- we have mushrooms, smoked salmon, crab and cranberry gifts in the fall. We had mysterious fungi appearing at our doorstep, phone calls with offers of mushroom foraging walks, still more offers of mushrooms. But they will never tell you where to find them- as they like to say around here.... "if I told you, I would have to kill you." Mushrooms are serious stuff.
A trip around the neighborhood shows more fences and trees down. We have a lot of cleanup to do.
We had a storage unit in Kirkland FULL of electronics- even an old 'reel to reel' and 300 pound servers. I rented a UHAUL van and waited for some Seahawk guys to beg for help loading the heavy items. (yes, they store at the same place). It was very difficult- but eventually the entire st
orage unit was recycled.
