Check out my book page with a new book added! “Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America” by David William Fischer.
This a well known book by a respected author. David also runs the American Mushrooms site http://americanmushrooms.com/ and helps people all over the world identify their mushrooms.
Then I cut it in half, length wise, as we are taught to do with all suspected puffballs! We are looking for any color other than white, and we are looking for gilled mushrooms in the button or egg stage.
The flesh of the mushroom is all white , but as you can see, there is a baby mushroom inside. This one happens to be from a very toxic family, Amanita. From the orange layer I would guess this to be from the Muscaria part of the family. A mistake with this identification could cost you your life!
Learn the rules and then there is no worries!
Finally was able to check out the burns by Darby. The burn I checked out was created as a result of the 2011 Saddle Complex Burn.
I have never seen so many mushroom pickers in one place in my life! They were everywhere scouring the hills for the elusive black morel. The whole scene was surreal with migrant pickers and locals camping in the same area and hunting for the same prize! Best way to make sure of your safety is to buy rifle scopes
The burn areas were dark, ominous, stinky and dirty. You could tell a destructive force had blown through causing death and mayhem. In some of the harder burned areas you could almost feel the force that had pushed through. It was eerie and beautiful at the same time as a rebirth had started. You could almost picture the fire as it ripped through and consumed everything in its path. The draws had chimney ed and everything in them was ashes that had flowed like rivers!
It was a great trip and I got to camp with the Missoula Mushroom Guru, Larry Evans! We talked about mushroom stuff that bores most people to death. I only found enough morels to eat, but I had a great time and it was pretty much what I had expected. The people that do this for a living, earn that money and deserve every penny!
Thank you to Larry and my other camp hosts!
The Russians call mushroom foraging “the quiet hunt” and this phrase really stuck with me! I really enjoy hunting mushrooms in a quiet setting…alone or with close friends.
Nature is so much more interesting than the modern world of electronics, consumerism and “progress”. Get out there and enjoy a quiet hunt…you never know what you will find. When the weather gets hot, this is the time to look for some of the odd shrooms that grow in the intense heat. Send me your pics,
Dean