Staveshaver

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to concur with something mentioned above... I've seen folks who are relatively new to wild mushrooms, and a few who claim they're experienced, correctly identify them, but then pick and eat mushrooms past their prime and/or badly infested with bugs and their feces. In some mushrooms it isnt real obvious unless one knows what to look for. Can this be a reason for some upset stomachs? Perhaps. I've hauled too many mushrooms home myself that I've thrown over the hill when I got to cleaning and closely inspecting them. I try to be more selective in the woods nowadays just to reduce that unnecessary work. Aside from visual inslection, I always give sheepshead/Maitake the sniff test. They should smell like nothing, or lightly like clean fresh dirt, leaves, etc. Their odor changes when they pass their prime and begin to sour until they smell pungent and eventually like an old pair of stinky gym shoes. Lol. But anything besides fresh, and I let them right where they are... or maybe scatter them around other nearby oak trees. Found my first Maitake of the year yesterday.

This was the best chanterelle season we've had here in Western Pa for about the last five years, and I totally missed it. I knew it had the potential to be good, but was too busy getting my mom's house ready to sell. I finally went out last weekend and found thousands of them in each of my best spots, but they were buggy and deteriorating. The carnage was sad to see. I managed to salvage just a few. I'll won't let that happen again. Here's a big one I found. Had to be 10 or 12" across.

Those golden oysters sure are purdy!

Those are some nice ones. I'm just north of you in Butler county and found these this morning under very old apple trees. Found many ramps on south facing hillsides.

Nothing of value to me popping up here in western Pa yet. Had a good bit of rain recently too. Found some Jackolanterns yesterday. Oh well, I'll look a few more times then it'll be time to hunt critters instead of mushrooms.

Same thing here in western Pa. Very dry, but finally got some rain recently. Meadow mushrooms popped up the last few days in the yard. I hope we get some more rain soon. We're about due for a good sheepshead year. Let's keep our collective fingers crossed.

That's a beauty.

I'm in Pa. Seems a bit early yet. Maybe nearer the end of the month.

Chanterelles. Not sure why, but I have the most fun while hunting them, plus love the smell, taste, texture. This year wasn't a good year for them here. I hope next year is better. Running low.

Trumpets. I haven't exactly been hunting them in earnest, but haven't found one yet.

I started doing it as another means to learn more about nature and enhance my self-reliance. I always feel like I should be closer to nature, understand it better, and make better use of it when I can. Mushroom hunting has its own challenge/reward symbiosis like hunting animals and other plants. And yes, they're yummy and promote health. I haven't sold them, but maybe I should. I recently threw away a whole wheelbarrow load of various mushrooms that I didn't eat in time and they got freezer burned. I'm going to do more dehydrating this year and less freezing. I hate seeing them go to waste after finding and cleaning them.

Those are some nice ones. Good find.

Ok. Thanks. I'm not familiar with them. I'll have to look them up.

Nice. What are the ones in the bowl?

That one's a beauty. I found several big, prime ones in the last few weeks here in western Pa. I didn't weigh them all, but two that I did weigh were 14.4 lbs and 15.2 lbs. And that's after trimming enough of the bases and underside away in the woods to remove all dirt and debris.