Tag Archives: Matsutakes

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The storm door is open and one storm after another is lined up. Today started out with rain but this afternoon there is brilliant sunshine. Cloud watching - and photographing - is a Coast tradition. Andrew Duhl was hiking on the Stornetta Public Lands recently and got this beautiful photo.

In between storms we have a chance to see Gray Whales migrating south. We also can discover what new mushrooms might have appeared. This morning Rick and I found a fresh string of Matsutakes and the first Bellybutton Hedgehog. It's just a baby and we'll let it grow. I will share photos of these tomorrow.

Thanks to Andrew for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

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Matsutakes, the prized wild mushroom that smells of cinnamon, are continuing to appear.

 It's important to carefully dig up this mushroom to see the complete stem. It does have a very bad lookalike so only forage for this mushroom if you are very certain of your identification.

And here is one of my favorite edibles, a Queen Bolete, Boletus aereus.

Yet another storm is hitting the Mendonoma Coast. But this weekend is forecast to be sunny. We will be ready for some of that yellow stuff!

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Robert Scarola photographed the first sunset of 2012 and a lovely one it was. Yesterday the Mendonoma Coast basked in warm sunshine. The temperature climbed to 70 degrees at our house in Anchor Bay, very unusual for wintertime. Today the warmth and sun has disappeared and light rain is falling. But our memories of the glorious first day of the year remain.

Thanks to Robert for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Wild mushrooms continue to fruit. There has been a second bloom of Matsutakes, nearly a month after the first one.

 Bellybutton Hedgehogs continue to fruit in abundance.

 And they make for some mighty fine eating!

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There is a place on our property with a lot of downed wood that Rick and I suspected might harbor edible mushrooms. Yesterday we had two helpers haul the branches out of there. We showed them a Bellybutton Hedgehog and asked them to pick those that might get damaged or destroyed by their labors. There must have been a misunderstanding because they picked every Hedgehog, no matter how small! They also found Black Trumpets, Golden Chanterelles and a perfect Matsutake. Here's a picture of the haul.

When I pick Hedgehogs I bring a knife and clean as much of the dirt off right away so dirt doesn't get lodged in the "teeth." Oh well, the fellows were very proud of themselves and I couldn't help but thank them. But next year I'll be picking them myself as that's half the fun!

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White Matsutakes are beginning to pop. Rick and I found several recently on a neighbor's property in Anchor Bay in Mendocino County. Lucky for us they have given us permission to mushroom there! Here's a photo of Rick picking a perfect Matsutake.

And this is what they look like when allowed to open.

Here is a link to see what the Matsutakes looked like at this spot several weeks ago:
http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/11/01/the-first-matsutakes-are-peeking-up-from-the-duff-in-mendocino-county/