I had tossed a tennis ball for our golden retriever, Sunny. It rolled down a slope and, since I am a better retriever than Sunny, I had to go get the ball. When I looked at the hillside, there was this nice big chanterelle.
Actually it was the first of many. And hedgehog mushrooms are up too. All delicious edibles and gifts from the forest.
What a season we are having this year with wild mushrooms. Hedgehog mushrooms, one of my favorites, are up in abundance, as are Winter Chanterelles and Black Trumpets. One of the most distinctive mushrooms is the Fly Amanita. Jim Garlock recently photographed one.
Rick and I went on a mushroom hunt last week, looking for edibles, of course. We found a treasure trove of Matsutakes! Also found was a Shaggy Man, Candy Caps, Black Trumpets and Hedgehogs.
Finding edible mushrooms in the forest is like finding treasure - a gift from Mother Nature.
Thanks to Jim for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
The Mendocino Coast has had so much rain recently that most wild mushrooms have given up. So imagine my surprise when I saw a group of rosy colored mushrooms under a tan oak, which was surrounded by Douglas Firs. I picked one and oh, was it ever slimy! The lower part of the stem was yellow. I did a spore print and it turned out dark gray. With the help of my mushroom friend, Bev, it was determined the mushrooms were Rosy Gomphidius.
With warm weather forecast I'm so hoping for another bloom of Horn of Plenty and Hedgehogs.
