2016 off to a good start

Looks like the season is staring out pretty good this year.

better get out there before they all get picked.

It's About Time!

I think those three words sum it up best for most.

I know first and foremost many of you are thinking it's about time I put up a new post. I'll try and get back in the habit of more routine posting though the posts may be shorter.

For those MO morel hunters, it's a demand not a statement. We are all saying it's about time for the dang mushrooms to show up.  Unfortunately, I cannot say that I have seen one in Mid-MO yet but reports are getting more numerous and the trends are in order.

This photo is from near Branson back on April 3. I usually find my first in our area about a week later, or TOMORROW. Let's hope it is so.

And the yellows are in Oklahoma and marching North. Hopefully soon, I will be picking yellows like these found over the weekend by Mitch, a crazy morel marauder, who travels more miles and picks more mushrooms than most folks I know. What a mouthwatering photo. Makes me itch for the woods. 

And for those sick of winter and already thinking of other mushrooms, my Mom's cousin, Ben, who lives near Monroe, Louisiana found this gorgeous chicken growing under an oak along the path to his vegetable garden. What an awesome treat from mother nature. With all the rain around here, I wouldn't be surprised if someone found one or two chickens while morel hunting this season.
 

A Long Cool Spring

I know I normally hunt in Mid-MO this time of the year,  but the slow cool spring have kept the hills pretty quiet and I have found myself called to greener pastures for better bounty.  

The morels are lining up two by two to be picked on the plains of KS. It has been so dry there that many places haven't popped in several years.  The plentiful rain and cooler spring have set up for some amazing picking if you get in the right areas.

See if you can find all the morels hiding in this photo.  You may need to look close. 

Here are a few videos of some nice patches I came across on Monday.

Oklahoma Morels 2013

The yellows were plentiful down south. You just had to find the right trees. Not a lot of folks hunt morels down there so they get to grow.

I picked about a pound of nice big yellow ten feet behind 3 fishermen. They were only interested in catfish.

Here are three beauties. I came back with 14 pounds total.

Reports from the Field

Went down to Oklahoma on Sunday to pick some big morels (will post videos from there soon). When I got back and checked my spots I was glad to see that the Mid-MO morels are getting bigger. 

Oh and they are just getting started in the south facing slopes of the hills. This one had just come up overnight.

 

Post a comment and let everyone know if you are finding anything in your neck of the woods.

They are here

The morels showed up in Mid-MO about mid-week but they are very tiny. I'm letting them grow so they get to a more pickable size.

Here are a few photos. More to come this weekend.

Hens have returned

After a very LONG and HOT DRY summer, fall is finally here and the hens have started to show on just a couple of trees.

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I found these on Tuesday and only ended up picking the big one. It was about 4 pounds. Hopefully the rest will be a good size by the weekend.

Now that the woods are alive, I am hoping that the blog will come back to life too. So keep an eye out for more entries to come before the mushrooms return underground for winter.