Friday afternoon, Rick and I, along with our rescue golden retriever, Duffy, took a walk. Alongside a path we take every day was a fresh Queen Bolete, Boletus aereus. Queen Boletes seem to like colder weather, which we had up until yesterday when the rains arrived.

Duffy came to us from Taiwan. He was living on the streets for a while. He obviously knew this mushroom was a tasty one. He would have snatched it if we weren't paying attention. Sorry, Duffy! We enjoyed it with dinner.

We also found Matsutakes in the same place they come up every year. These were just peeking up from the forest duff.

They smell wonderful - of cinnamon. They grow in sandy soil and I believe they have a symbiotic relationship with Sugarsticks, Allotropa virgata. I have found Sugarsticks, a native perennial herb, nearby in the spring.

We are having lots of wonderful rain. It began yesterday and continues today, for which we are grateful.