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Don’t Look Now, But There’s a Humongous Fungus Among Us!
First stop on our seven-day National Mushroom Tour was the Malheur National Forest in northeast Oregon, home of the world’s largest single living organism, an Armillaria ostoyae (Honey Mushroom) infestation in the pine forest Continue reading
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Fall Season Still Going Strong: A Cornucopia of Shrooms!
Every week I’m out there (on the slopes of Mt. Rainier) hunting this fall, there seems to be a different variety of exotic mushrooms predominating. At first (about a month or so ago) it was Lobsters, loads of Lobsters. Then shortly after that the Chanterelles started, but didn’t come in as strong as usual; but… Continue reading
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Fall Mushroom Heaven!
Fall is our favorite time of the year here in the Pacific Northwest … because the weather is nice, the colors great, but mostly because of the mushrooms! They are springing up everywhere. Recent forays have yielded lots of Boletes (Slippery Jacks and Admirables), Golden Chanterelles, Lobsters, Puffballs, and others. Continue reading
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First Fall Foray of 2018: Smoked Lobsters
It’s August 21. It’s warm and dry and the skies are filled with smoke from British Colombia (and some Washington) wildfires, but we had a decent rain at the beginning of last week, and I’ve been reading reports of lobster mushrooms appearing in Oregon. So I decided to take a few hours off today and… Continue reading
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Fire Morels Abundant in First Forays of the 2018 Season
It’s become tradition for my son Nathan and I to head to Eastern Washington in the Mother’s Day timeframe. This is about the time the Morel Mushrooms begin showing their lovely little heads, typically in areas that have been ravaged by forest fires the prior summer. Continue reading
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Last Foray of the Season … and It’s in the Snow!
All in all, I don’t think it was a great fall, here in the Pacific Northwest, for mushrooms, with the possible exception of Lobster mushrooms, which seemed plentiful. Chanterelles have been out there the past few weeks, but quite a bit thinner than other years. Boletes were thinner than last year. Coral fungus was smaller.… Continue reading
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I Ate a Mushroom Larger Than a Human Brain!
Calvatia gigantica puffballs have a smooth, leathery outer shell, and when you slice into them, if they are in edible stage, they are firm and white. This one was perfect. So I proceeded to do what I had long dreamt of doing … grilling and eating it. Continue reading
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The Drought Is Over! Here’s Your Mid-October Report for the Puget Sound Region
Mushrooms are now to be had in the forests near Mt. Rainier. (Not in the national park, unfortunately … you can’t hunt there. But in the national forests like Gifford Pinchot, learn the licensing and hunting regulations and get out there!) Continue reading
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The Impact of the Drought on Our Little Mushroom Friends (mid-September Foray Report)
Okay, it’s September. The time of year when, at least here in the Great Northwet, the forest floors are usually crawling with Chanterelles. But, we’re in the midst of a drought. We had the longest rain-free period on record this summer, broken only late last week by a fine spitty smattering of rain. So little,… Continue reading
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Like Lobster? Now Is the Time to Get Out There and Get Yours
When I suggest to people that we are heading out to hunt Lobsters, I get a lot of raised eyebrows. “I thought you were into mushrooms?” they say. “Are you switching over to seafood now?” Continue reading