Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering is a card game. To play, each player needs a deck with a minimum of 60 cards, and a 20 sided dice. A deck will be a mixture of land, creatures and spells. In the top right corner of the creature and spell cards, you will see a symbol showing how many and which type of land card you need to play them.

Three different kinds of land card

Set your dice to twenty. Draw seven cards each from your deck but do not show each other. Going first in a game of magic has some advantages so whoever goes first doesn't draw another card on their turn. Play a land card if you have one. If you have any cards that cost one land, have look to see if they would help you.

Two of my favourite creature cards

The aim of the game is to get your opponent down to zero on their dice. There are lots of rules that you need to learn. For example flying creatures cannot be blocked by non flying creatures without reach.

This is one of my favourite spells

You can have mixed coloured deck or a single coloured deck. There are five colours in Magic: black, blue, red, white and green.

Do you still want to play...?

Click here to find out more about Magic: The Gathering.

Field Mushrooms

Do not pick if not totally certain! 

Field mushrooms have pink gills (feathery things on the underside of the mushroom) but can be easily mistaken with Amanita Phalloides or death cap, but these have white gills, and Agaricus Xanthoderma or yellow stainer, which has pink gills but blooms yellow when bruised. Death cap can kill and yellow stainer will make you ill. 

When and where

I found this one in our garden this morning

Any time after rain but usually from early autumn to early spring. Pick before the gills turn brown. They prefer dark moist places but will still be plentiful out in open areas.

Cook

First peel the mushroom by taking hold of the lip of the skin. It should peel off in a few pieces. After that, pull off the stalk. If it has lots of little holes, discard the mushroom - the holes are maggot holes. 

You can see little holes where the stem was snapped off. I had to throw this one away

Fry in garlic and butter.

Other mushrooms

Usually we just pick and eat field and horse mushrooms, but in the autumn we found a Caesar mushroom. It is the only edible mushroom from the amanita family. It was delicious!

Brendon Chase - my favourite book

Brendon Chase was written by B.B in 1944. 

Three brothers run away from home to live like Robin Hood and his merry men, deep in the forest of Brendon Chase. They make their camp in an ancient oak tree, loving the danger and excitement of their surroundings. Their aim is never to be caught, but how can they avoid all the people who are searching for them - including the determined Sergeant Bunting?

I really like this book. It is full of nature and it is very exciting. 

Catching Crayfish

Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans that look like small lobsters (which they are related to). They are also known as crawfish, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, mudbugs, or yabbies.They breathe through gills.

Equipment

You can use a bacon string. A bacon string is a long string with some bait tied on the end which you throw one end of into the water. Wait for a small tug then pull it in. 

You can also use a trap such as this:

If you do not have a crayfish trap, follow these instructions to make your own one.

1. Take a plastic bottle

2. Cut bottle in half

3. Take off lid, put the tapered end inside

4. Tie on a string, add bait to main bottle

and catch a crayfish!

Bait

Fish heads work best but any old fish will work. Meat is a good option too though, such as bacon or sausage. You can use cat or dog food too. 

Area

Find them in fresh or brackish water usually muddy ponds or streams, like this one on our land. 

You can mostly catch them all year round. 

Cook

Find the middle section of the tail, twist it and pull out the intestine. Boil the crayfish in water until they turn orange. Serve with butter and parsley. 

Eating Acorns

Acorns were an important source of carbohydrate around 8000 years ago in the Mesolithic Stone Age. 

Picking
You will find them on the ground below an oak tree in Autumn. Try to find acorns that are not wrinkly and have no holes. I get my acorns from a cork oak tree in our garden. The cork oak is Portugal's national tree. It's evergreen and can grow up to 20m. Our cork oak is around 10m tall and at least 100 years old. It gives very tasty acorns!

Peel
After you have picked your acorns you will need to peel them. If they have any black bits throw them away (these are bad bits). If you see little brown balls this is worm poo - throw the whole acorn away. 

Cut and soak
You will then need to chop the acorns into the size of a lentil then put the pieces in a clean sock and leave in water for 12-24 hours. This is to get rid of the bitter tannins. 

Cooking
First get a big bowl with a layer of kitchen roll in the bottom, then empty the contents of the sock into it. After that, put another layer of kitchen roll over the top and wait overnight. In the morning when it is dry, dry roast it in a pan. Eat it while it is still hot. 

Our cork oak

Haiku

Worm digs into earth
The birds circle overhead
Stay safe underground.

Lizards long and thin
Climb over bramble and twigs

Disappear from view

Sparrows in a nest
Mother returning with food
A fat black beetle