As I was raking up leaves from the driveway to move the hill, I came across a very small mushroom.
As I raked more, I came across more:
As I continued throughout my day, I kept finding them. I am not sure if they are always this way or I just caught them at the right time, but it was fun walking and seeing all the different varieties.
Funny how often Nature will truly reveal itself, if we will just look.
I love to eat mushrooms and yet I will only identify and pick one type of mushroom (morel) for consumption. One of these days, I really need to take a class on local identification and consumption of them.
ReplyDeleteEd, as morel mushrooms are the be all and end all of all mushrooms there is an actual morel mushroom fair that they hold every year. Mountain Mushroom Festival in Irvine, Ky. Always held last weekend in April. I will be there with bells on. I know they are expensive but this is my treat to myself.
DeleteEd, I have never had a morel (that I am aware of). I have almost a pathological fear of being poisoned by fungi.
DeleteAnon - What an interesting sounding festival!
DeleteApparently there is one in Michigan (Boyne City) as well.
Morels are easy to identify and though they do have a poisonous cousin, it is easy to tell apart from the non-poisonous one after you pick it. (In full disclosure, I have never found a psuedo morel.)
DeleteAccording to sightings maps, they do grow out near The Ranch but now so much around New Home. Judging from the density of sightings, they aren't very plentiful compared to where I live where I have rarely been skunked in finding some in season.
Ed, you have posted pictures before. I confess I have never seen one that looked even remotely familiar to those pictures.
DeleteInteresting photos TB, a bit more difficult to discover mushrooms around here today since we received a light dusting of that white stuff last evening, maybe a quarter inch, just in time to celebrate Hmong New Year.
ReplyDeleteHeh heh. Yes, I imagine that makes for a difficult search.
DeleteQuite a few people have mentioned this being a really good year for mushrooms.
ReplyDeleteAnd decomposing leaves make for good mushroom fertilizer.
You all be safe and God bless.
Linda, I have no idea if they are always like this and I just never noticed or they are unusual productive this year. They certainly were a treat to see though.
DeleteHunting mushrooms is a great sport. We have Morels and Chantrelles, and sauteed in butter, they are wonderful. We also have the deadly Amanita's as well, so great care must be exercised in learning to identify and distinguish them. It was somewhat disappointing to learn that many of the "edible" ones still tasted like dirt, so the gourmet varieties are few and far between. We also have Psilocybin native here, but fortunately my interest in such things is long, long gone.
ReplyDeleteI have found a curious quirk in perception in foraging for mushrooms. I can go out in the woods (first fall rains after a dry spell are best) and see nothing. But if I stand still, slow my mind down, I'll start to see them and suddenly, they are everywhere. It reminds me very much of learning microscopy. My instructor gave me a slide and said "What do you see?" I looked, and said "Nothing but debris". He just said "Look again". It took a few minutes, and in a flash, I saw what was always there: "They're everywhere!" The perception has to be learned, especially in the field of parasitology where the elements you're looking for are few and far between in vast fields of junk. It takes a great deal of patience to be a good at a microscope, and the same goes for being in the woods. An uncle once taught me that for every wild animal you may see, ten more have seen you.
Greg - I seem to recollect that several mushrooms taste like dirt, even tough they are safe to eat (or with side effects, as you note).
DeleteThe lesson from your instructor is very spot on. To be honest, I would not have noticed the initial batch if I had not stopped raking and taken deeper of a luck.
I was coving the asparagus patch with leaf mold last week and I noticed a few tiny asparagus spears growing! I wondered if we just had an abnormally warm and wet autumn, or if this happens every year and I just noticed it for the first time. FWIW, we've only put the asparagus patch to bed for the last three autumns, so that's not saying much, but I was surprised nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteThat is great news Becki!
DeleteWe have certainly not had a particularly rainy year in New Home, but The Ranch had a fair amount of rain this year. I am not sure if it is just the year or always this way.
Sounds like you've had good rainfall lately. I've meant to get a mushroom identification guide, but so far haven't. They are awfully interesting.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, we saw a lot in our hike to Mt. Goddard this year (given that the Sierra Nevadas had epic snow and rain, not a surprise). Mycology is definitely an interesting subject - even if I never picked a single mushroom, it would be good to be able to identify some.
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