With the welcome sound of rain tapping on my roof top, I hope it last for a good while. We need a good soaking to bring the woods back to life before old man winter ushers in the end of the season. The mushrooms are just waiting to spring forth.
We found quite a few hens over the weekend despite the fact that we haven't received a drop of rain since mid-September. They were often small or sprouting up in unusual places such as inside stumps, or were already showing signs of drying out.
Here's an example showing the unusual nature of their appearance. It also shows you that as long as you have a flashlight, hens are one mushroom you can hunt in the dark. In fact, hens show up pretty good by flashlight because the white parts are very reflective.
I took a 90 minute midnight hike and found two of these, but before you go out in the dark. Please keep in mind the park rules. Most are closed from sunset to sunrise. However, you can hike the trails at night if you are allowed to and actually camp in the park like we did last weekend.
