An education in Thurman: Martin’s Lumber hosts Woods Walk and Artisan Market

“The education piece is important to me and Win,” says Gary Martin of Martin’s Lumber. He and his wife Winefred bought the wooded lands on Valley Road in Thurman in the 1970s, and about 12 years ago they opened it to the public for self-guided woods walks. Signs along the trails identify and offer information about sugar maples, white pine, eastern hemlock and other trees found in Martin’s forest.

The Annual Wood Walk and Artisan Market, which was held Saturday, June 4, furthers the Martins’ education mission by introducing visitors to the woods and the crafts of self-sufficient living. “We teach people to do things — how to do for themselves,” says Martin.  

Ed Braley of E & S Wild Food Larder led a group of about 30 people on a mushroom walk through the woods while explaining how to forage for mushrooms and identify those that are safe to eat. “This is all mycelium,” he says, making a broad sweep of his arm to indicate the entire woodland. From the mycelium, mushrooms bloom, although foraging for mushrooms in the wild can be hit-or-miss. One year, he says, he found more than 200 morel mushrooms, but when he returned to the same spot a year later, he found only one.

“Some will kill you within 24 hours,” he says, so it is important to know what you are eating. Braley suggests joining a Facebook group dedicated to mushroom foraging to learn how to identify those that are safe to eat. When photographing a mushroom for identification, he says to be sure to take pictures of the top and underside along with the surrounding area to place the mushroom in context. He suggests novice foragers begin by searching for oyster mushrooms.

For those who want to propagate their own mushrooms, Andy LeBlanc of Indian Lake demonstrated how to inoculate a log with Shiitake and Lion’s Mane sawdust spawn (sawdust inoculated with mycelium.)  After demonstrating the three-step process — drilling holes in a maple log, injecting the spawn with an inoculation tool and sealing the holes with cheese wax — LeBlanc turned his tools over to his audience so they could get hands-on experience.

More hands-on experiences were offered at the Artisan Market in Martin’s barn. Potter Diane Cubit, whose unique pieces she says are inspired by her Abenaki heritage, had Make & Take projects. Visitors could produce their own trinket tray using paper air-dry clay or decorate a bisqueware vase using leaves to stamp a design.

Yoga in the Adirondacks led guided meditations, Rachel Guyett demonstrated chair caning and Perky Granger showed how to make fireplace logs out of newspaper. Granger, a local author, was also signing copies of her books.

Locally produced Jewelry, quilted items, wood carvings and handmade soaps were among the items for sale in the Artisan Market. Martin says there are a lot of creative people tucked into these mountains. “It must be the long winters,” he mused.

When considering modern culture and technology, Martin says, “Some say ‘We don’t belong in the woods.’ Yes, we do. We’ve always been in the woods. We just forgot. But for the last 40,000 years, we’ve been sitting around campfires. Thurman is slowly evolving back to what it was years ago … small family farms, people raising their own food.”   

Martin’s Lumber, 280 Valley Road in Thurman, welcomes visitors to explore their woods. Each fall, Thurman farms open their barns to the public for the Thurman Fall Farm Tour and in March, Thurman maple farms welcome visitors for Thurman Maple Days.