Garage Mushrooms

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

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

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

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

Black Trumpets

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.