Mushroom Journal

Garage Mushrooms

2011-06-07T11:25:00.002-05:00

A couple days ago we were sitting on our back porch when the neighbor's garage door opened. I looked inside and saw so many mushroom I thought he must have a little mushroom farm in there. Most of them were still small except for this clump. The next time the door opens I'll peek in and see how things are growing.

Hello Chicago

2011-05-16T09:56:00.000-05:00

A lot has happened since my last post. I've left the mushroom paradise of the Upper Peninsula and relocated to Chicago. Most of my mushroom hunting this spring and summer will take place in Lincoln Park. I'm not expecting to find much more exciting than these inky caps.

Tree Hollow Mushroom

2010-10-27T14:13:00.001-05:00

There's a big tree outside my building, I stand under it all the time waiting to meet people. A long time ago I noticed some evidence that mushrooms might grow in the enormous hollow (big enough to fit my head shoulders). I check it regularly, and this week it's blooming nicely.

Fall Is For Mushroom Lovers

2010-10-01T13:09:00.001-05:00

Fall pictures always turn out so nice with the colorful leaves and good light.

Black Trumpets

2010-07-16T12:40:00.005-05:00

Today I found something new, a whole patch of black trumpets (Craterellus cornucopiodes). I've found a few strays before but never this many in one place.

If they are still there next week I'll pick a bunch and try to dry them.

First Chanterelle

2010-06-28T19:06:00.002-05:00

We were back on the trail looking for boletes today when Chris spied this little chanterelle. It's only a couple inches tall, but we'll hope it is a sign of good things to come.

First Bolete

2010-06-25T20:20:00.002-05:00

This week I headed out to the Michigan Tech trails to look for boletes. There's a particular trail where I found a bunch last year so I went there first. Sure enough, I found this nice king bolete (Boletus edulis). It was still fresh, with a firm, fleshy cap. I took it home and threw in on the grill with the chicken and potatoes. It was a little small when shared among four people, but it was delicious. Can't wait to find some more.

False Morel, Tech Trails

2010-05-24T21:34:00.001-05:00

Last Friday I went walking on the Michigan Tech trails for the first time in a while. No morels, but I did find this attractive false morel.

Bucket o' Morels

2010-05-03T07:38:00.002-05:00

On Saturday I found more morels than I'd ever found before. A friend of mine took me out to some land near his house where he's been out foraging a few times already this year. Even though he'd already picked lots on his previous trips there were still plenty left, mostly under old apple trees.

In anticipation of finding a good haul I ordered a food dehydrator, it should be here on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to seeing how well I can preserve dried morels for the rest of the summer.

Mushroom Season is Open

2010-04-19T07:55:00.002-05:00

Thanks to an early spring it looks like mushroom season has begun. I spied these inky caps pushing up in front of my house yesterday. A friend of mine spotted a half dozen morels near his property. I am predicting an absolutely huge mushroom season this year.

Broken Photo Links

2009-10-29T14:38:00.002-05:00

Sorry for all the broken photo links. I changed some settings on my Flickr account and they all got screwed up. I'm slowly going back and trying to fix them.

Fall Earthstar

2009-10-29T14:12:00.003-05:00

I haven't seen an earthstar in several years so I was happy to find a whole bunch of them on today's lunchtime walk, especially since I wasn't looking for anything in the sandy, gravelly soil where they were growing. Kind of looks like a puffball in an octopus costume.

Squeezing the Puffball

2009-10-01T12:40:00.004-05:00

Another stunning day for a walk in the woods. I found some puffballs and tried to get a picture of spores shooting out as I squeezed one of them. Unfortunately my timing wasn't very good.

Small World

2009-09-30T12:47:00.006-05:00

Took this picture at lunch today. I like to imagine this mushroom being about 30 feel tall and living in a small hut underneath.

Abundance

2009-09-23T19:41:00.004-05:00

I've been bad about carrying my camera lately, but today I made a point of bringing it along on today's lunchtime walk. The variety of mushrooms out right now is truly amazing, even though most of the boletes are past their prime.

Highlights today included the deadly Amanita bisporigera, the ordinary inky cap, some pretty fly agarics, a nice light/dark combo of turkey tails and another polypore I haven't identified yet, an unidentified striking red specimen, and some other unknowns.

Truly, the few months we've been here in the Upper Peninsula have been some of the best mushroom hunting I've ever experienced.

Hunting In the Dunes

2009-09-14T14:06:00.007-05:00

Last Saturday we joined a group mushroom hunt at the George Hite Dunes and Marshes Preserve. Along with a nice big patch of fly agarics, we found several boletes that were new to us.

Here's nice fly agaric (Amanita muscaria).

This was the most common find of the day, I'm pretty sure it's a bolete called Suillus pictus. Assured by our guide that they were good to eat, we cooked up a handful of them when we got home. They were okay but kind of gamy by themselves, probably would have been better as part of a more complex dish.

This is another Suillus, I'm guessing it might be Suillus granulatus. The brown pattern on the cap was very pretty.

So while we hoping for some more delicious king boletes, we did find some attractive specimens.

Tech Boletes

2009-09-08T19:15:00.003-05:00

This evening we dragged the kids out for a quick walk on the Michigan Tech cross-country ski trails and unintentionally stumbled upon some of the best mushroom hunting in a long time. There were boletes everywhere. I'm still not great at identifying boletes but I'm pretty sure the one on the left is a king bolete (Boletus edulis), commonly known as the porcini.

We'll probably head back in the next couple days to look for more.

Chanterelle and Slug

2009-08-22T21:01:00.003-05:00

Out for a picnic with friends this evening found a nice handful of chanterelles near the park trails. A couple, including this one had attracted hungry slugs.

Good Variety

2009-08-03T10:54:00.006-05:00

The family went out hiking yesterday and found a good variety of things: a couple small chanterelles (not enough to cook), some boletes (bitter, I think, not really edible), and some fly agarics (toxic). Often fly agarics are bright red but these were more orangeish and quite pretty.

Porcupine Mountains

2009-07-12T17:39:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was my first trip to the Porcupine Mountains. I was much more interested in keeping my eyes out for bears than mushroom hunting but I still found this nice cluster. All my books are still packed away so I haven't tried to identify these yet.

I also found a few nice oyster mushrooms.

Urban Morel

2009-05-23T20:55:00.004-05:00

I was walking up to the park to meet my family this evening when my friend who lives a couple blocks over flagged me down to come look at a "weird mushroom" growing in her front yard. Sure enough, it was a morel. Neither of us could understand why a morel was growing in her mulched bed next to an evergreen shrub.

So now that I'm leaving town I'm finding morels within walking distance of work and home.

One Last Morel

2009-05-19T14:58:00.002-05:00

I couldn't resist making another trip out to my morel spot today. I scoured the ground and found one more, probably the last one I'll find in Minnesota this year. I'm excited by the fact that when I arrive in the Upper Peninsula on June 10 I can still catch the tail end of their morel season.

Secret Spot

2009-05-18T13:38:00.003-05:00

Today I went back to the spot in the arb where I found morels last Thursday. This time there weren't any visible form the path, but when I got back there and started poking around I found three more. Guess I now have my very own secret morel spot.

Real or Fake?

2009-05-15T15:30:00.002-05:00

I stumbled across this article today. Looking closely at the photo, I think it's a fake. What do you think? Gives a new meaning to "false morel."

End Of a Five Year Wait

2009-05-14T14:29:00.003-05:00

Each spring for the last five years I've spent dozens of my lunch hours searching for morels in the woods. Today I finally found some. Seems fitting to fulfill my quest just a couple weeks before leaving. I think it's a sign.