In search of the wild mushroom

I'm a bit late getting into the studio. It was another foggy mountain morning and I had to wait for the fog to lift so I could take a picture of some wild mushrooms I found under the pines yesterday, and possibly ID them. I have a new, pretty comprehensive mushroom book and I'd like to have more than 2 edible varieties to pick. My dad and I used to go mushroom hunting on Staten Island, N.Y. and he only knew two varieties that he knew were safe. We'd come back with a good bag full and that night mom would saute them with onions and smother a pan fried steak with them, and can the rest. I think that first mushroom, a bolete, may be edible; but I'll email the photo to the Asheville mushroom group for their more experienced input.

Will Baker came by the studio around 11 am and brought me the box of the clay I needed to get the pug mill started. He also drilled and cut extra holes in a small gas kiln that I'm converting for soda tests and re-fires and removed the cone sitter, and I'll use that hole for one of my temperature probes.

Yesterday was a heavy, donkey work day in the studio. Instead of sending a 5' table that I ordered, they sent an 8' table. That change in size meant it wouldn't fit the spot I intended it for and after scratching my head a bit and measuring some other tables and spaces, I found that I could put that bigger table to good use. The problem was that now I had to empty 3 other tables that were full of bags of clay, containers of slips and glazes, tools, etc. to make it all work. Before I put everything back, I wiped all the containers and got most of them back. By that point I was really wiped and called it a day. There are still a few of the larger buckets to move under the table and some smaller things to put away, and some jars of oxides mixtures and slips to get on to shelving and get some most used slips for decorating on a wheeled cart that I can sit near my wheels when throwing. I'm hoping I'll be able to complete this project today and get the pugmill going and do some throwing tomorrow.

We're having some frozen Chinese dim sum goodies that I bought at the Oriental grocery in Asheville. That along with some miso soup, cold sake for me, and white wine for Jim should make a nice, pretty light, Saturday night supper.