And so it begins again...

It's been only a few days, since the new round has started. Here's a picture of it being submerged. The funny thing about the block is that it floats. It floats a lot and needs to be weighed down. The best thing I could think of was to use the smaller of the two pots that I used to boil water and manuever the handle closer to the cooler lid and anchor it down. It worked for the most part. It wasn't a pretty sight.

What was less of a pretty sight was watching me struggle to dump the water in the kitchen sink. That was a hilarious moment! I lifted it up, spilled water all over and managed to get a tiny bit into the sink. After some mopping and a better grip, I tried again to some success. It took maybe 3-5 attempts to dump it all, rinse the itty bits that fell off the block from the bottom of the cooler, and then clear it all out. Whew!

This evening, I checked out Shelby and examined her for new friends. I found a couple. This friend here showed the most promise. I noticed that it burst through the dark patches on the block. It also seemed to be white first and should darken as it continues to grow. In the past 'shroom babies started from the get go with a black mini-cap. It was very much like a little mammary. We'll see what happens this time.

I was greatly concerned that the block turning black was a bad thing. The instruction booklet had said that once it was completely dark, it was done for. The guy at the Garden Show had said that once it felt light as a feather that it was done for... all sapped out. We'll see how much more we can get out of the block. It seems that flush two is starting and going strong. Woohoo!