nature
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Getting Ready for Fall Forays at the Foothills Southwest of Mt. Rainier
Mushrooms were sparse in a research foray for the Fall 2022 season in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. However, I made a new friend … Continue reading
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Fall Forays Are Happening Now in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest!
If you haven’t yet joined a MushroomObsession free foray, you will enjoy the experience. Contact me for instructions. Continue reading
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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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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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Have You Ever Had a Hedgehog?
Hedgehogs are a late fall/early winter mushroom that grows in damp, ferny areas, and in my mind it is one of the more savory and simple-to-cook shrooms. I love it as a side dish, or as a breakfast mushroom with scrambled eggs. Continue reading
Mushroom Obsession 