Summer Snapshots: At Home in Iowa

The Canada wildfires made for pretty morning light, but occasionally stopped me from running.

Summer at home in Iowa is our favorite thing to do for our long June/July break. We were particularly fortunate this year with cooler summer weather that invited us outside for lots of biking and canoeing. We always spend lots of time with family, mostly just hanging out and eating yummy food. This was the summer of canoe foraging, for which we were rewarded with glorious mushroom-y dinners.

Fritz is an expert forager. Here he is collecting golden oyster mushrooms. This stump is particularly prolific.

While Fritz forages, Charlene continues to grow her bakery business. She is so creative and experimental in her baking. Here she tried out Honduran semitas de yema. Fantastic!

Last year our Pilot moved on to another owner, so this year we are driving Adam’s parents old Dodge van. The van turned out to be great for many purposes, including canoe transport!

An unexpected surprise of the summer was the giving tree of golden oyster mushrooms. It’s on the stretch of the Shell Rock River that flows past my brother’s farm, and each time we floated by we were able to collect a few mushrooms for dinner.

Angie and her dad untying the canoe from the van in preparation for a float trip.

Staying entertained on the float trip with some bubbles.

Adam climbed up this downed tree to collect golden oyster mushrooms. This was our favorite foraging spot of the summer.

Fritz and Adam preparing a fried mushroom feast.

Another part of our summer was visiting our land and starting to make plans for it. We also got to take Adam’s parents to see it for the first time. And we had a couple of picnics up there, including one with Angie’s dad.

A picnic lunch on the land with Angie’s dad.

All said, it was a great summer! We’re looking forward to next year and more canoeing and foraging, and hopefully a bit more progress on the land.