Jump to content

Staveshaver

Members
  • Posts

    45
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Staveshaver

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. I'm in Pa. Seems a bit early yet. Maybe nearer the end of the month.
  7. 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.
  8. Trumpets. I haven't exactly been hunting them in earnest, but haven't found one yet.
  9. 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.
  10. Ok. Thanks. I'm not familiar with them. I'll have to look them up.
  11. 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.
  12. This is mostly an old thread, but I'll use this opportunity to post pics of some mushrooms I've found in the last week or so here in western Pa. I thought it was going to be a bad year for sheepshead, but we got rain just in time, and while I haven't found a record amount, I've found some really nice ones. A week ago I found these. And here they are 6 days later, yesterday, when I picked them. Last year at this tree, they grew a blonde color in the exact same locations as each of these. Does anyone have any idea what determines their color? Rain? Sunlight? I though it was last year. Actually this picture is from the same tree 2 years ago.
  13. Here's the view from the side. Aside from the shadow, it looks relatively normal this way. And here's the view down the back of the bow as it is now.
  14. Thanks for the info. I checked a few spots here in western Pa over the weekend and found nothing. The ground seems very dry and the springs, and little feeder streams are dried up, even after the rain we got last week. But I'll keep checking.
  15. I'm no expert, but the one in the first picture looks like tinder fungus. Also known as false tinder fungus, hoof fungus, or tinder conk. I have no idea what's in the other two pictures.
  16. Yeah Cajun, I'm working on the snakiest piece of osage I've ever seen. Gonna sinew back it, then put copperhead skins on the limbs and snapping turtle skin on the grip. I don't know if I'll get it done in time for this hunting season, but maybe. Foulhook, that sounds like an awesome day. I live in Butler county and have a camp up in Potter. Your story makes me think of a spot way up on top of the mountain next to my camp, and I've never checked it for chants. If I go up there next weekend, I may crawl up there and check. Like you said, even if you find them too old this year, there's always next year. I'm about an hour north of the elk area in Benezette, but there are lots of elk around camp this year. Saw a huge bull last week with two smaller ones. I find chants by oaks, but more around hickories.
  17. Hi guys. I used to visit here, then my browser got old and gave me fits and wouldn't jive with this site so I couldn't access it. Now I'm using the Chrome browser and it works, and it feels good to be back. Anyway, I don't see any threads or pictures of chanterelles. I know it hasn't been a good year for them here in western Pa because we got no rain when we really needed it, but I kind of expected to log on and see that someone somewhere was having better luck than we are, but no chant pictures? Eventually we got a few days of rain and I made one last trip for them and found a few last weekend. Anyway, I'm way behind on enjoying shroom eye candy so feel free to use this thread to post any pics of your recent finds, whatever they are.
  18. Nothing yet here for me in Butler county, although a few of my friends are finding a few here and there. I picked some Dryads Saddles and Watercress two days ago. It's been quite cool at night, but is supposed to warm up tomorrow. I'm going to hit it hard here in a few days.
  19. All very interesting. Boy, you should have seen it Dave... I live in Butler county btw... one day I went way down deep into this area, where I used to bow hunt near some old apple trees, crabapples, hawthorns, and combed it until I was exhausted and frustrated... found nothing, zilch... was taking/busting through the most direct route through the wall of multifora rose to a horse trail that would lead me back in the general direction of the truck. I labored up this steep hill, into the pines, stepped onto the trail, and right there at my feet 2' off the trail, growing in the white pine needles, was this perfect, gianormous yellow morel, with a beam of the late morning sunshine behind it illuminating it like an apparition. It was a cool moment. I searched the area and found over a dozen more, but none quite as nice as that one.
  20. I have a lot to learn about them yet, but found as many morels near trees I hadn't previously heard they were associated with. White pine, aspen, and hawthorn for example. Found some real beauties in the pines, 8-9" tall. And my best spot is all hawthorn trees. Hopefully the weather cooperates this year. Good luck to all.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Guidelines | We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.