Skip to main content

A Morel-less May

This has been a rather disappointing spring, as far as foraging is concerned.  For the past several years, my husband and myself have been honing in on the exact environment the magical morel mushroom grows in.  This unique mushroom is truly a treasure.  Prolific in more eastern parts of the country as a yellow morel, the rocky mountain version is dark and mysterious. It grows around 8,000 -10,000 feet elevation on steep slopes covered in scrub oak.  We will often find them in clusters, just pushed up from the earth.  Morels will pop up all through the month of May here, right around my birthday, and I look forward to it every year. 

A gorgeous Morel from last May
After a long mushroom deprived winter, it is a joy to get back into the woods, foraging for these delicious beauties.  This year we grew increasingly more worried as May approached.  Our winter was almost non-existent as far as moisture is concerned, and we crossed our fingers for a wet spring to grow the mushrooms.  May came without April showers.  As hard as we looked we could not find a single morel.  We hit all our honey holes, and came up empty handed each time.  

The only Morel of 2018
Finally, on a hike in a spot that had produced several pounds in a single day the year before, we found one mushroom. The mushroom was tiny, and I'm surprised my husband had even spotted it!  If I had known how dismal this spring mushroom season would be, I would have been much stingier with my stash from last year!  I just hope this is not an indication of what the rest of the mushroom year is going to look like.  I am going to cross my fingers and toes and hope this summer is rain filled and mushroom producing!  I have to feed my obsession! ☺

Here are some pictures of morels from last year.  I sure hope next year brings more photos like these!









Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elk Breakfast Sausage

  I love breakfast.  I love mornings when we have time to make a big breakfast, and sit together at the table to enjoy it.  This time of year it is cold early in the morning, and I relish those days when we can wait just long enough for the sunshine to start spreading across the dining table, warming up the house.   Of course, breakfast is not usually set to such ideal conditions. We are usually rushing to get ready for school and work, and don't often have the luxury of time and relaxation. That means that quick healthy breakfasts are coveted by this busy mom! When we processed the elk I recently harvested, we ended up with a lot of cuts of meat best suited for the grinder. We decided that along with our standard burger, we wanted to make breakfast sausage as well. I use so much burger throughout the year, in pasta, casseroles, chili, and a ton of other meals. But we often overlook breakfast in our planning.  Not this year! In the past when I have made bre...
Post a Comment
Read more

My First Grouse!

Today was a pretty special day. Our kids are on fall break, and although we tossed around different plans for epic adventures, we ended up deciding to keep it simple and hang at home for most of the break. I,  however, was craving a family day in the mountains. We loaded up and headed into the woods. It always takes a little time away from electronics for our kids to detox and return to their wonderful selves,  and today proved no different, but we soon settled into a relaxing mood that included watching the aspen leaves fall and scanning the hillsides for grouse.  As you may have read in a previous post,  A Walk in the Woods , I have been out searching with my husband for some grouse, but have yet to actually find one to even attempt shooting.  I have been after my first grouse for some time now, having decided it was time to step into a more active role in our family’s food production. For years I swore I would never hunt.  Hunting is a part of our f...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Walk in the Woods (aka Grouse Hunting)

Following my hubby through the woods. I bought a hunting license this year. That statement may not be shocking to most of you, but it is if you’ve known me in my younger years.  I grew up in a family of ranchers, although we stopped ranching when I was a little girl, and beef was always on the menu.  Hunting, however, was a foreign concept.  There were certainly members of my extended family who hunted, but it was not something I was ever exposed to.  In high school I became very attached to one of the steers we were raising for meat, and I swore off red meat.  Several family members love to tell the story of Chrissy the Vegetarian, but I was far from it.  I never gave up chicken or pork.  Especially not bacon, because, it's bacon.  Enough said. When I met my husband I had no understanding of why someone would hunt, and although I didn't really think it was wrong, I didn't think it was something I would ever really support, let alone partic...
Post a Comment
Read more