Every inch we creep forward is further distance gained! We seem to be growing in all directions now! Expanding products, connecting with new customers, building relationships, and creating experiences! Starting with the River Street Expo, going through DJ Stark Raving Mod’s Tie Dye Psychedelic Sundayze event into the 2nd Sunday at 2 Poetry and Prose open mic hosted by Nancy Klepsch and Dan Wilcox past the poetry and prints reading where we introduced new prints of Armando Soto’s art, and flaring up with pop-ups at the River Street Market Block Party and the Troy Waterfront Farmer’s Market. We spoke with so many new mushroom enthusiasts and spread our mycelium far and wide!
Sunday, August 8th Tie dye event with DJ Stark Raving Mod.
Sunday, August 8th: Second Sunday Poetry @ 2
(you can read a review here: https://dwlcx.blogspot.com/2021/08/2nd-sunday-2-poetry-prose-august-8.html?m=0 )
Thursday August 19th: Poetry and Prints
Indian Ladder Farms started carrying our mushrooms:
DiFamiglia Pizza started making vegan wings using our oysters and shiitake:
Saturday, August 14th: River Street Market Block Party
Saturday, August 21st: Troy Riverfront Farmer’s Market:
We provided our first batch of Ready-To-Fruit bags to a homestead farmstand project. They will be purchasing 100 or so bags from us a month once they are fully online.
Albany Victory Gardens expanded their blueberry plot using our composted blocks:
We did so much foraging in August! Getting into the woods, breathing in the forest, and interacting with the fungi is always an incredible experience. Note: Not all mushrooms pictured below are edible. Please do not consume any mushroom you may find without positively identifying it first.
We were able to offer Chanterelles, Black Trumpets, and Chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms for sale throughout August.
We Launched 2 more product lines:
Of the Forest skin care in collaboration with Groundup Apothecary. A lotion, a body butter, a facemask, and a body scrub all including farm grown and wild foraged mushrooms.
And a variety of mushroom teas:
We also made progress on putting our pre-packaged risotto kits together.
Coming up:
Saturday, September 4th: The DeadBeats Duo, DJ Stark Raving Mod, Artist Armando Soto, Pizza by DiFamiglia and Tie Dying will be happening from 5pm – 8pm. FREE! (donations gladly accepted)
https://www.facebook.com/events/279078994009476/?active_tab=about
WE WILL BE CLOSED SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 5th!
We will have another pop-up at the Troy Farmer’s Market on Saturday, September 11th (OUR FARM STORE WILL BE CLOSED)
Sunday, September 12th, We will Host the 2nd Sunday at 2 Poetry and Prose reading (2pm to 4pm)
Thursday, September 16th, we will host a live and in person Poetry Open Mic from 6pm – 8pm.
Health benefits of mushrooms talk at the Balance Massage & Healing Arts Studio September 21 at 6:30pm.
Collar City Mushrooms is providing fresh mushrooms for Chef Matthew Joyce (of Prime at the Plaza) to create a culinary delight for the Guests of the 14th annual Autumn Evening in the Garden Gala for Capital Roots on September 22.
Growing Mushrooms and what to do with them talk September 23 at 7pm
River Street Market Block Party returns on September 25th! Free Music with craft and food vendors and we will be there!
ATTENTION: Primordia Playtime was POSTPONED until Covid cases have gone back down in the area. With so many budding young mycologists in the we will be offering this program as soon as it is safe to gather indoors again.
And now, a guided meditation poem for you to enjoy:
The Hunt
You walk into the forest.
A cool breeze tickles the exposed skin on your arms;
The sun peeks through the waving canopy;
Shafts of light illuminate swaths of loamy soil.
Rugged brown tree trunks, moss covered stones, and sparse undergrowth greet you warmly, paint the landscape with shades of vibrant life.
Soft footsteps.
Soles sinking subtly.
Breath is steady, metered, even.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
The possibility of discovery has you tingling with excitement:
the hunt has begun.
The quiet buzz of insects, the shushing sound of leaf on leaf, the fall call of the chickadee all create an orchestra around you.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
You walk.
Nostrils fill with the scents of freshly fallen rain, decaying forest litter, and that underlying foundation that resides within every wooded area: mycelium.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Your wandering takes you from tree to tree, an ambling meander that yields no pattern;
you flit with the essence of a hummingbird from oak, to beech, to maple, from elm, to aspen, to pine.
Seeking always seeking:
a splash of red, a glimpse of orange, a puff of white.
Seeking,
Always seeking.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Suddenly:
There!
There at the fringe of your perception;
At the edge of your attention;
In the corner of your eye;
You see it:
Interlocking shelves of orange and yellow circling a decaying oak stump; a prize of epic proportions, a reward for patience and persistence, a gift from the wilderness itself.
A chicken-of-the-woods fruiting that will fill your belly and nourish your body.
A true joy to find.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
The hunt: a success.
Your basket full.
Your heart full.
Your head swirling with ideas for meals; you thank the mycelium for this present, thank the remains of the tree for its life, and thank the forest for this moment.
You begin to walk.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
And you return from your journey.
Collar City Mushrooms 