May 29th, 2026 Friday Cloudy
The realization of home ownership sometimes comes in the most unexpected way.
Two months after we moved into this house, a severe thunderstorm hit our region. In the middle of the night, while on my bed, I was woken up by a loud BANG, then as if in a movie, a lightning struck a tree in our backyard, sending a fireball (literally) down to the ground. Due to the proximity to the power line, the local electricity company immediately responded to clear out remaining branches that might cause further burning. We were lucky that our residence remained safe.
The next day, my husband examined the situation in the garden, where a few pieces of newly killed wood were lying. They belonged to us, but what should we do with them?
Cutting them up for fireplaces was a typical choice, and the leftover small fragments could become wood chips. However, we were looking for more interesting plans, and the idea of growing mushrooms came to mind.
I am very fond of mushrooms – the meat-like textures and the superb flavors packed with umami, not to mention the unique nutrition profiles, are all intriguing. Being able to harvest mushrooms at home, especially varieties hardly seen in the market, is a fairly appealing concept.
We did some research. We identified the trees and fungi species mostly compatible with them, located a reputable supplier, and placed our order. When the shipment arrived, we got to work: holes of the right sizes were drilled, the plugs containing spores were hammered in, and melted wax was dripped on top to seal them from likely invaders. We were hopeful and started dreaming of a winter full of tasty delicacies.
Then we took a three-week vacation, leaving the mushroom logs in the garage. By the time we returned, the fall had mostly passed. Temperatures were dropping, and dry air permeated.
Unlike vegetables whose growth is generally visible, the colonization of a log is hardly detectable by the eye. Nevertheless, we kept checking on the logs, now sitting in a pile under the snow. One day, tiny greenish florets started appearing, a sign that, unfortunately, something else, clearly not our intended food source, already took hold.
Our disappointment, considering all the investment, could easily be imagined. After further reflection, we learned about our own mistake – probably the indoor environment did not provide the spores with enough moisture to survive, and no one “watered” them while we were away.
Unwilling to spend more time and money on this endeavor, we decided not to do it again. Even though there were numerous occasions when fresh woods became available to us, the fear of failing – and the inevitably wasted resources associated with the failure – prevented us from another attempt.
Until today.
It dawned on me that if we never want to risk not obtaining the desired outcome, we would never try anything new. We would stick with the practices that were “tested” to guarantee a success and not venture out. As a result, we stop learning, and life becomes boring.
So here we are: a batch of newly prepared mushroom logs. While their futures are unknown at this point, we have summoned the courage for another shot, with the potential delicious treats being the icing on the cake, pleasant but not the only thing that matter.
May the nature reward us more generously this time.