How-To: Building a Woodland Terrarium

Building your own terrarium from moss and plants you have harvested yourself can not only be lot's of fun but also very rewarding. It will keep you looking for different varieties and will get you to see things you may not have noticed on an afternoon hike. I have found interesting bugs, eggs, mushrooms and animals, just to name a few. The terrariums I made yesterday were entirely constructed from wild moss I picked up that morning. With the wet conditions, the moss had flourished and was easy to harvest. Whenever you pick anything for transplant it is better to do so when well watered. If the roots are dry they may not take to the new potting medium. Moss is quite possibly one of the easiest to gather, gently work your finger tips between the moss and the object it is growing on (stone, tree, earth, etc...) and pull it up in a sheet or clump. Place the moss in a Ziploc bag (fold root side in if needed) and seal. Toss in your bag and keep looking for other items you might like (small stones, pieces of driftwood, bones, etc...) After you have found what you like and will need, head home to start on the terrarium. To prepare the moss you will want shake the sheet out into a garbage bag or bin or bathtub. Leaves, bugs and other debris should fall out. Don't worry about getting all of it out, you can get it at the end.

You'll need a clean, large glass container with a loose fitting lid. Cookie and apothecary jars work and look best. Look at rummage sales, thrift stores and if all else fails Wal-Mart carries pretty inexpensive jars like the ones shown in this How-To. I bought these years ago and believe they were about $12 or so. Really not a bad deal. You might want to have a few handy because once you get going it's hard to stop yourself. Chris is worried and he should be! I have completely mentally redecorated the apartment to incorporate as many terrariums and plant life that I can but that's for another time. SO with your jar spotless and rinsed thoroughly place about an inch of cleaned gravel in the bottom. I buy the $2 bags of river pea gravel from Home Depot and that looks just fine for me. If you want color you can use aquarium gravels, glass blobs or rubies and sapphires if that's what you want, you just need a 1" layer of pebble-ish stuff at the bottom for drainage.

Next we need earth! I use a regular high quality potting soil but you can also use specialty mixes like those for African Violets or Orchids. In a large bowl place the estimated amount of soil needed (there should be at least 1 1/2"-2 1/2" of soil and you will need more if you plan on making hills.) Next add in aquarium or gardening charcoal, about a 1:5 charcoal to soil mix is sufficient. The charcoal will purify the terrarium over time, keeping it fresh and healthy. Add in enough water to completely wet the soil. You don't want mud! Just enough where you can make a mud ball and it doesn't fall apart. Place into the container on top of the gravel (don't mix the two.) Be as neat as possible trying to mind the walls of the container. I like to make mounds of dirt to create hills and valleys to add visual appeal. After you have the base to your liking, take a fork and rough up the surface so the roots will take. Using a spray bottle filled with water and set on "Stream" spray down the sides of the container making sure to get all the dirt down to the bottom.

Now the fun starts. I pull several different varieties of moss that I collected trying to change up the color, texture and size. I love how fern moss looks like a forest from far away and clump moss takes on the appearance of a meadow. You can gently ease pieces off your main sheet of moss or puzzle together small sections you have. Press the moss firmly into the prepared soil. If you are using a longer moss like fern moss, lay it on last so the bottom leaves can hang over and not become smothered by other mosses. If you are planting ferns or other plants, make sure to dig a little hole for them first. It is better to put the plants in first and lay the moss around them. After all the living objects are in place you can add anything decorative you found or like (skulls, driftwood, jade statues, rocks, etc...) To finish up mist down entirely, spraying off any debris on the walls of the container. Don't go overboard with the water, if you see it pooling in the gravel stop. You don't want it to be too wet. Look through and pick out any debris or bugs hiding in the plants. Now place the top on and set in a low light area of your house to enjoy.

For the next week or so after you'll need to monitor the moisture levels. If there was originally water pooling in the gravel, leave the top off overnight. Then put it back on the next morning. If condensation starts to appear on the walls, take the top off again. If the soil looks dry, lightly mist down the plants. It will take some time but once the humidity is up without the glass fogging up, you can leave the top on and pretty much forget about it. Occasionally you will need to mist and prune but that is almost bi-annual. Really easy right? Make several, start big, it's just easier.

Terrariums are the coolest!

I know I have disappeared yet again but I promise I didn't forget about y'all. A lot has been going on this past week and I haven't been in a very productive mood. Of course the rain didn't help either. I was happy to see it though, I love thunderstorms and rain means growth and rejuvenation. So I am getting very excited about upcoming hikes and forays. I was supposed to take a friend out today to collect moss and small plants that we would then use to assemble terrariums. We decided to postpone due to the abundance of rain. It's a good thing we did because everything is flooded. I went out for a quick trip through one of my favorite forests this morning. Salt Creek has spilled over into the forest and it's all mud out there. I did happen to collect some moss and assembled two terrariums this afternoon. I needed something to take my mind off of life and it did the trick. Tomorrow I will post a how-to on building a terrarium. Today though mucky, excited me for next weeks adventures with Cece. We have been looking forward to an outing together and this should just be wonderful. I'm already thinking of what to collect and planning many different terrariums in my head. Can't wait!

OH YEAH! The pictures I've taken don't do them justice! I am working on editing or using a different filter or something to show the variation in the mosses' color and texture. They look like small forests. I think I should head to Chinatown and pick up some jade Buddhas for them. I need more of the "middle path" in my life.

Rising with the Sun

Determined to get in a good hunt and hike before Martha at 11am, I woke up at 4:45 and was deep in the woods by 5:20. It was a great day, found some Morels and snapped some great pictures. I discovered new trails, several rivers and ponds and got lost... a lot. It's just too easy but I really do need to get a a compass or at least pay attention to where I'm going. It has been really nice this year because every time I head out for a hike, I am for the most part prepared. My pack includes a journal and pen for notes, several Zip-Lock bags for... well anything I might want to bring back, a pair of heavy duty shears and a knife. I also bring with a basket for collecting Spring onions and edible mushrooms, an old book and strap for pressing flowers and my field guides for identifying unfamiliar mushrooms. A camera is a must and I keep mine on hand in my breast pocket or basket. There have been too many times in previous years where I have found myself without it so I'm making sure to stay on top of having it with me, charged and ready. While I still need to add to my field supplies (a pocket saw, better knife, magnifying glass and I'm always looking for better field guides) I am really proud that I've been so diligent about being prepared for one of my favorite activities and I can make the most out of my time in the forest. Ok, I know I have been obsessed with Morels and the woods and whatnot but it is the season. I promise in the next few days to bake a cake or something, I will be starting a huge clean and reorganization of our apartment and I will document it all. I am going to be switching the bedroom with the craft room (we need more space for my projects and the bedroom is larger! Will Chris kill me? I swear he'll love it once he sees it. I'm off to spend some time with Chris and the kids. Can't wait for this thunderstorm to really get going.

FINALLY!

You will be glad to hear that I finally found Morels! It took forever but my patience (hahaha) was well worth the wait. Over the entire weekend I probably picked about 20 which is not bad for the first good hit of Spring. Saturday I woke up super early and was in the forests by 6am. It took me 8 hours before finding a really great spot, my new honey spot. I headed back there late this morning to see what had popped up overnight. After a few minutes of brushing the forest floor and seeing amazing polypori, a car pulled up. I was a little nervous about who would be intruding on "MY" forest. A father and son team headed into the woods on the other side of the road and later asked how my hunt was going. Luckily I had nothing exciting to report. If you don't know, "honey spots" are closely guarded secrets and most mushroom hunters won't give too much information away. The dad told me they had 14 from their previous areas and that they had seen people picking over the area we were in. More people know about this spot? AHH! Next week I will have to get there at 5AM! I spent about 45 minutes (maybe more... probably more) without anything. I pressed on despite the rain and even after the competing pair left. Finally I spotted the perfect tree from across the way and just knew I would be lucky. There were 8 spread out around the base of the dead Maple. I shrieked in excitement. I kept going but decided I had enough for dinner and a few extras for a friend. Next week should be fantastic, a little more rain and a lot more sun will do the trick. I want to organize a hunt with some friends but first need to secure some more spots. It would be heartbreaking and embarrassing to take others out with me and not find anything. Tonight, I will be sauteing the Morels in butter with a little salt and pepper. Yum!

BLAH

I really have absolutely nothing to report. Chris made dinner, I haven't cleaned anything, the dishes are piling up and I took a 4 hour nap this afternoon. I know, I am a total bum. Tomorrow I have to head to school to take placement tests, woohoo and that's about it. I hope that I come back motivated and ready to clean or bake or craft or something besides talk about my momentary obsession with Morels but now that we're on that topic I can't say enough how excited I am for the weekend rain. I think everyone at work secretly wants to kill me because rain and Morels and turning Philbert into a Mushroom Hunter is all I can talk about, that and my gas... you really don't want to know. Martha, slap me now for even mentioning that. Anyway I know everyone is probably sick and tired of hearing it but several trips without anything and several promised storms that never showed have me eager for one good hunt. I have been checking weather.com every hour and the rain is moving further into next week. We still have 40% chances Friday and Saturday but if we don't get rain those two days my chances will be shot. I'll be forced into afternoon hunts followed by rush hour traffic. There are worse things I suppose. Anyway, keep your finger's crossed and I promise... well hope for your sake that this is the last rant about fungi until the weekend's bountiful hunt!

TGIF g-dangit.

I am thrilled that the weekend is finally here. Lot's to do, morel hunting, visiting CHIC and meeting with an admissions representative and of course cleaning. I am getting better about keeping up with the household chores but I do have a long way to go. Managing clutter is the worst, I need to head to the container store! The craftroom closet needs a complete makeover and I need to buy a garbage can (I still can't believe we don't have one... it's a little ghetto.) I had an accidental nap today and was really disappointed we didn't get more rain. Oh well, we'll see tomorrow if the tiny showers we saw this morning were enough. Because of the nap I was unable to make bread but instead used some left over pate brisee and blueberries to make popovers. They were amazing and really got me stoked for summer fruits and berries. Can't wait. Well kids have a great night and will let you know how the hunt turns out tomorrow. Have to get to sleep so I can get up at 5 and head out.

Fiona's Forest Flops Again!

Yet again it was an unproductive hike in the mushroom hunting sense. Overall it was a great 3 hour hike. The frogs are back and plants are bursting out from the leaf litter. I did find some really nice Dryard's Saddle and spotted a possible moss galera but because several of the galarina fungi are toxic, I left it behind snapping a picture for further evaluation. It is important that anyone attempting to collect their own mushrooms make absolutely sure they are safe. If you can't identify it, don't pick it. It's really that serious. Now Morels on the other hand are very distinct and there is only one "false" Morel which really looks nothing like the original. I am still fairly new to this and bring my Mushroom encyclopedias with. I'll sit and study a mushroom while flipping through the pages. Even if it isn't edible it's worth knowing. I talked with Andrea, one of my favorites, and she had quite an amazing day (10+ WOW!) Congrats Monkey and good luck tomorrow. I am hoping the showers tomorrow and the cooler temperatures will be a perfect setting. If not I will persist. Even though I had a pleasant stroll in the woods, two things really started to... well, piss me off. First off, the trash in forest preserves has always been a problem but for some reason I really took notice today. It is everywhere. Old pop top beer cans, copper wire, broken bottles, sheet metal... the list goes on and on. It is just awful. This summer I'm going to have to organize a Big Clean, get some people together and haul out the garbage. It really needs it. The second problem I encountered was mountain bikers. When I first came upon Fiona's Forest (it's a secret place) it was an old forest preserve trail whose marker had rotted through and not many people knew about. On an average day I would never see another living soul and once in awhile I would come across a couple hikers and maybe someone riding their horse. It was heaven. This was back in the early 2000's and as the years went on I would see handful of cyclists each week and the next year that number would double. Normally their activity was limited to the weekends and I could always count on a mid-week stroll interrupted. This afternoon I was buzzed off the path by 5 different bikers. I also took a different path and saw the damage these guys are doing to the trails. In some areas the tire ruts were almost a foot deep, maybe more. It's insane! The ground is now torn up and uneven. Maybe I need to stick to my old trails but still this is a problem. The rangers have put up a sign stating the trail is closed when wet, "if you leave an imprint, you must leave." Kind of a bunch a B.S. if you ask me. Someone, I'm assuming the rangers, has gone through and cut down trees and vines to make the one quaint, natural hiking paths, wider, taller and littered with sawed off branches and piles of vines. Oh well, I'll stick to the back trails where hardly anyone visits and enjoy the peace and quiet. Saturday I plan to only spend an hour there and if I'm not lucky by then, I'll head off to a different spot. Hopefully I will strike gold somewhere, anywhere. I really wasn't joking about Whole Foods. I will go. I pray I won't have to but this urge has to be satisfied. Lot's to do tomorrow, I have successful put off finishing my painting project at work till the very last minute so tomorrow I am stuck there getting as much done as possible. Then a fun night of bread making and watching a movie with Chris. I hope that you were able to get out at least for a little bit today and that you're looking forward to tonight/tomorrow's rain as much as I am.

Daffodil Days

I am so ready to get back out to the woods this weekend for more mushroom hunting. I can feel it in the air that I'm going to strike morel gold... if not from the ground then darnit from Whole Foods! Hahaha. Seriously though, I am so ready for Spring treasures and actually found a little urban gold this morning. It was a typical Tuesday at work, Cece had returned and told us of her adventures in Ohio. I volunteered to run out and pick up 2 dogs that mistakenly were forgotten from the transport list. I was happy to head out and even happier when mapquest misguided me in the wrong direction. Naturally I was worried about not being at work and how long it was taking but as soon as I saw a bed of wild daffodils alongside an overpass, I was willing to take whatever crap was in store upon my arrival. When I got home, I dragged Chris back to the overpass and quickly clipped about 6 dozen. They are so bright and full. Chris stayed in the car, questioning the legality of the situation and I ran off with my scissors and smile. Who knew that even in Chicago, a little uncontrolled nature would sneak in? It just got my blood pumping and ready for the hunt this weekend. Hopefully we'll get lots of morels and maybe some pixie rings if we're lucky. I also need to get these pressed flowers organized! So much to do and so little time to do it and on that note I need to get some arrangements put together, if they're good I'll post pictures later. If they're not so great... well we'll forget this blog ever happened. Oh and I am making dinner tonight I just don't know what it is, burger or chicken something. We'll see.

Changing the Plan is usually the Plan.

I did not get out to the woods today for some mushroom and flower hunting and a much needed hike. Instead I decided that I needed to start cleaning before I brought more things into the house. How sensible and who would have ever thought I would be sensible? I am just as shocked as you. I spent the morning tearing the refrigerator apart, scrubbing and binning some pretty disgusting stuff. I'm not sure why we had 3 open salsa containers or 5 varieties of jams and I would expect myself to come up with an excuse for the 3 half-filled apple butters but I simply can't. Such waste and as each item fell into the trash I kept thinking about the compost bin I so desperately want. Maybe I'll make one of those worm containers that you can keep in apartments but that is just one more item taking up very precious and limited space. For now I just need to be more diligent about making better use of what I have rather than being so quick to run to the grocery store. In that spirit I have started our weekly menu and plan to follow it, eat and use the leftovers and eat better! I'm very excited to start cooking on regular basis and hopefully this will get me into Martha mode with the household chores. I have been such a slacker and I really do think it has been the weather. All I want to do is sleep and watch TV. It could also be that I have been sick but now that I am feeling much better I am ready to get this apartment under control. So today I got the kitchen started and tomorrow morning I am waking up early to take Lucy foraging through Fiona's Forest with me. Yes, Lucy is getting a special trip all by her lonesome with her Pops but that's mostly because I would rather watch the surroundings rather than the dogs and the boys need my constant attention. Plus Lucy needs some 1 on 1 time, we both miss it occasionally. We're hoping to find lot's of flowers and if we're lucky we may even find some hearty Morels. Then back home for some more cleaning and if I'm up for it, I might even head into work to get some more painting done. If I don't I'll have to stay late this coming week so I'll just weigh the pros and con's during the hike. You're not fooled, eh? Yeah me either, I'll be staying late this week. No one wants to go into work on their day off if they don't have to... especially me. Speaking of work, new developments are happening in my career goals. I have become increasingly disappointed in my job. There are endless possible reasons for this but I can't seem to put my finger on it. I know that I am disappointed in my current facility and I could easily change that but haven't for a variety of excuses but there are other things that are telling me "this isn't for you." While I do want to continue working with animals and shelters, I no longer want to sit in a room for 7 hours a day, scooping poop and being barked at non stop. So what comes next? Well I've decided to go to pastry school. It mostly started on a whim, a "let's do this for fun to relieve the stress" type of thought but then I thought maybe I should be a little more serious about it. I love to bake and I'm pretty damn good at it if I do say so myself, my decorating skills are fairly good and well I think it would be fun. We'll see where this takes me but for now it's gonna be a crazy ride. Uh, how have we gone from procrastination for purification to mushrooms to a new journey? It's late, that's my only excuse. Now time for the season 1 finale of Six Feet Under. Goodnight and have a great Sunday. Get outside and explore, if you find any morels and want to share your spot, let us know.