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posted: October 8, 2025 |
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This page begins with August 20th and a photo of my wooden Water Buffalo. After that there are several mushroom photos - these were all growing in our yard. Then there are a couple shots of my Birthday Cake that Kazuya created, and then we'll take you to the White Mountains for our annual Lingonberry harvest. There are some photos of Kazuya's garden flowers - the final harvest before the first frost, and also photos of some souvenirs that I brought back from the Philippines after my Peace Corps Service there from 1985 - 1987. I sold all of these things to a very fine gentleman from the Philippines who resides in Fairbanks. The final photo on this page shows a panoramic image of the Tanana Valley Farmers Market. Click on any thumbnail to begin. |
| Begin Late August |
I had this wooden water buffalo (nuang, carabao) with suckling calf, made for me before I left the Philippines at the end of my Peace Corps Service there from 1985-1987. It depicted the actual water buffalo that I owned while I was there. My water buffalo mated and actually had a calf for me. The local people were in awe "the Americano has a nuang and it even had a calf." A female water buffalo has a very silent heat, so it's practically impossible to determine when to have it spend some time with a male. I was most fortunate that my greatest helper and friend had a male, and my water buffalo and his were sometimes tied close together. The male knows when the female is in heat, probably due to pheromones, even if humans don't know. I had kept this in storage for many years and decided to sell it, and a nice gentleman from the Philippines fell in love with it and bought it from me.
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During late August our yard was essentially a fungi festival - we had so many types of mushrooms growing that it shocked us. We had a very wet summer and the spores seemed to find it an opportune time to push up a stalk. The first two photos show an Amanita sp., while the third photo shows some type of club mushroom.
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Here is one more shot of a club mushroom and then a photo of the Honey Mushroom (Armillaria sp.). The leaves and the mushrooms make a nice photo.
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Here are three more shots of the Honey Mushroom (Armillaria sp.). Kazuya discovered that this is a mushroom that is eaten in Japan, so we harvested several of them and made a type of soup with them, which was surprisingly delicious.
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Here is a shot of my 78th Birthday Cake, and then a shot of me holding it up. This was a masterpiece of a cake that Kazuya made.
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| End Late August, Begin September |
On September 8th we had a nice weather day and decided to go up into the White Mountains for our annual Lingonberry harvest (Vaccinium vitis-idaea). As you can see, we had great weather and everything was beautiful in the sun.
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Here are three more photos of the place where we go to harvest Lingonberries.
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This area also had a plethora of mushrooms - the first shot shows a huge one. The second shot is a close-up of Lingonberries, while the third shot shows our harvest bounty. What's the difference between a Lingonberry and a Cranberry, you ask? Well, Lingonberries are sour, but also a bit sweet, so they are super delicious to use for several things. Cranberries are basically bland (to me). How can you know the difference? You can bite one of the berries in half and if it is deep red inside it is a Lingonberry, but if it is a pinkish-white inside, then it's a Cranberry.
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These two photos show the final harvest bounty from Kazuya's flower garden. When we had the first frost warning he went out and harvested most everything that looked good. How amazing, all of these flowers to brighten up our day.
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Here are additional souvenirs from my time in the Peace Corps - Philippines. The first shot shows a selection of machetes (bunengs) that I collected from various sources while I was there from 1985 - 1987. The second shot shows 2 small cups that were used to measure rice. If I remember correctly, one cup of uncooked rice was the serving for one person. I ended up selling this stuff to the same gentleman who bought the wooden water buffalo shown in Row 1.
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The first shot here is the actual yoke that I used on my water buffalo when we plowed the fields, and also when we pulled carts of charcoal and corn into the marketplace. The second shot is an Ifugao backpack made of rattan. It is called a pasiking. The same gentleman bought this stuff. I still retain many souvenirs from my Philippines service. I only sold the items that there is really no place for in the house.
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Here is a nice panoramic image of the Tanana Valley Farmers Market. This was taken in mid-afternoon, so the crowd has thinned out considerably. In the mornings it is so busy that it is nearly impossible for me to leave our canopy. The second photo, taken by a vendor friend, shows the line at our canopy at market opening time. It's not always like this, but we sell very steadily all morning, and then it slows down when the most sought after items have already sold out.
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| End September 20th, End Page 1 |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the continuation of this month's adventures. |
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