Success - A Perfect Day in the Woods

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and since I am beat from a day in the woods, here are a few thousand words for tonight.

Getting much longer in the pits.

Some larger than usual grays.

A nice cluster of 5

This was one of the biggest at about 5 inches.

This was a real pain in the butt money tree. It had 19 around it amidst razor sharp blackberry brambles.

Total haul for me 180. The smaller pile was when I was by myself in the morning and the larger pile was when I was joined by camoshroomer in the afternoon (his pile is not shown, but I know he got at least 60). It was a beautiful day in the woods.

Just to see I wore a pedometer while I was hunting and according to it I took 18, 262 steps. So that works out to be about a mushroom every hundred steps and it is only April 8.

Morel Hunting is Like Voting - Do it Early and Often

Although my day was full with work and making my way to the polls for local elections, I managed to sneak out about an hour early and hit a spot I checked on Saturday. I didn't see anything in the spots I had checked over the weekend, so I walked back to an area I hadn't checked in over two years. Boy am I glad I did. There were tiny morels in several spots. Most were singles, but there were a few twins starting to make their appearances, like this nice pair of small yellows. All in all, it was a great day to be in the woods. Things are setting up nicely and with more rain and cooler temps on the way, I would say we are off to a fine start.

As I was taking this photo, I nudged a few leaves with my sleeve and to my surprise there was another set of twins hiding beneath. Just to give you an idea of how well hidden and out of sight these fellas can be this early in the season. Here is the before and after shot.

BEFORE

AFTER

It was nice to find these tiny little grays still leaning over taking a nap. It also supports the fact that grays and yellows are the same species. They just change color based on stage of development and/or environmental conditions. These two pairs were not but 10 inches from each other, yet one was clearly yellow and the other clearly gray. The only difference was one pair was exposed, one was not. I left the gray ones behind, well covered, of course. I'll go back and check and see what color they are on my next visit.

You may notice that the pair of grays are leaning over. In fact, many of the ones I found today were still bent over and waking up. I suggest walking very lightly in your proven spots or you may be stepping on your chances for a good future harvest

Only 6 of the 25 or so that I uncovered were bigger than this little fellow, so that is all I took home. To be honest, I normally wouldn't have picked the others since they were only about 1 1/2 inches, but I just had to get a small taste. Mainly to satisfy my hunger for fresh ones, but also because I am a firm believer that having morels coursing through your system is a sure-fire way to locate more.

So, if you are in the woods keep a close eye out because most are just starting to peek through the leaves. They are a little easier to spot. Some are a little rusty in color from the cold night temps, the warm dry winds, or possibly a combination of the two. Not sure how they get that color, I just know that on this one, the "rust" was only on the exposed surfaces. Lots of those teeny tiny squirming varmints in these fresh ones, but a little extra protein never hurt anyone.

It's Only Just Begun - Finding the First Morel

After hunting a few hours on Thursday and most of the day Friday and Saturday and finding nothing, it sure was a pleasant surprise to see this little guy today. I wasn't planning on doing any hunting this afternoon, in fact I probably should have been working, but the weather and photos from Camoshroomer had me ducking out early and heading down some familiar back roads.

I only picked this one little guy and not because he was of any size at just under two inches. Actually it is my tradition to always pick the first one I see no matter what size. I dry it and place it in a small jar that I will carry with me in my bag for good luck next year. I started this tradition about 6 years ago and have always found my first within the first week of April. Everyone has their own little morel hunting superstitions. I'll have to save that topic for another post, because I have some good stories about hunters only going counterclockwise around trees and some of the other quirky things we do.

They are very small and it will take a few days more for them to get big enough to spot easily. I left quite a few behind to grow in several spots. At least I think that will grow and probably fairly quickly at first, if the weather forecast holds. Lots of hot humid weather which in my experience really increases their growth. I expect there to be good pickings by the weekend.

If you can wait, then that is the time to start. If you are like me and you just have to get out there, keep a close eye out around suspect trees because there is a good chance there could be something there but very small.

What is it that makes finding that first morel such a special rite of spring each year? It is almost a magical experience as you glance a hint of that unique pitted-pattern that after only a few days of searching in vain, becomes ingrained in your brain. For me it is always the same. I spot it while scanning the ground as always, so my eyes have to backtrack and I literally do a double, triple or sometimes even a quadruple take. After that I simply staring at it for at least fifteen seconds asking myself is this real. With the realization comes the satisfaction of knowing that they are here, that the season is on. And that is really why finding that first one means so much. It is the anticipation of waiting all winter dreaming of morels. Heck, if you have never found one before, then you have been waiting you're whole life. The anticipation must be deafening. To finally see, hold, and smell that first morel. Quite honestly words cannot describe the feeling. It is truly something that MUST be experienced.

Morels for some while most get skunked (some literally!)

I keep getting reports and checking from the boards I need to update my maps. Here is a photo sent by Shane Jr. from Hillsboro, MO. Way to go Shane Jefferson County will be on the map when I update it tomorrow night. Thanks for sending me the report and photo. Makes me a little jealous. Oh what am I saying it makes me a lot jealous.

I have been out the last few days finding no morels. On Thursday the first day I actually looked I spent an hour just working my way to my patches. I had to work around and wade a few sloughs in the woods that were backing up with flood waters shooting down from the north. After finally getting to my spots, I looked extra careful and did not see a thing.

To add insult to injury on the way back I literally got skunked, as I came face to face with one of the little varmints not four feet away. I saw him turn tail. To run or to spray I will never know because I was not about to stick around and find out. I took off in the other direction as fast as my out of shape legs could carry me (remember it was my first day in the woods and I was on the way home). Luckily I escaped but I took that as a sign and headed back to my Jeep.

Today I went out with Camoshroomer for a few hours scouting to no avail. Meeting up with a larger group of morel hopefuls tomorrow, so who knows we may just be able to turn up one or two yet. Although many signs are right (redbuds and dogwoods are budding, my forsythia is in full bloom, and many trees are already showing their green leaves) things seem a week behind for morels, but this good rain has some promise as long as the rivers don't rise too much more.

MO Morel Reports Increase

Here is the classic photo evidence of a morel sighting in Springfield posted on the Morel Hunters Missouri board by Kawryan, an administrator over at Morelhunters.com. By the way, that website which is only a month or so old, has quickly grown to become an impressive set of resources and a friendly online community for mushroom hunters to gather (no pun intended).

I checked the morel report boards and updated the map at the top right of the blog. I'll make a list of all the boards I regularly check at the end of this post so you can try to track them yourselves, if I get too busy picking later this season.

To my surprise mainly due the lack of posts from MO prior to Sunday, there were quite a few including one from someone as far north as King City and one who reported finding 10 right in my own backyard near Columbia. To be honest, this is a little farther north than I expected, but the early bird gets the worm and there are sure to be micro climates that have been warm enough to start things flushing.

Now, some of you are undoubtedly Show-Me'ers and might have doubts about these reports. So before you email me with them. keep in mind that I do not even attempt to judge the veracity or truthfulness of these reports anymore. I just take them at their face value. I ask myself why would someone want to lie about finding morels and who am I to judge. I mean, so what if they are lying? All they are going to do is get me out of my lazy chair and in the woods sooner. I should be thanking them for the extra motivation.

Also, I have doubted crazy reports early in the season of people finding 300 well before anyone else. When I did I was almost always proven wrong, so I learned long ago not to get into these arguments. They aren't worth it. Besides the only thing that really matters is that I haven't found any yet. Never mind the fact that I actually haven't even gone looking. I'll find my first this weekend. That is what I predicted and the first rule of actually meeting your prediction is to not hunt a day sooner, so now I patiently wait for April 2. I would go look on April 1, but why bother no one believes any April Fools Day reports, though I bet most, at least the modest ones will be true.

Here are the morel report boards that I check. I compile these with reports I am sent or told to produce my MO morel report map:

Morelhunters.com

Mushroom Report Board at the Morel Mushroom Hunting Club

Report Board at Michigan Morels

Mushroomhunting.org

1 Morel Mushroom Lane Message Board

Mushroom Reports at OutdoorMissouri.com

And last and least: the Missouri report board at Morels.com

The Do's and Don't of Eating Morels - or how not to get sick

Every year, I hear or read of at least a few reports of people getting sick after eating morels. Some of these are from people who have never tried them and have an allergic reaction to them -- which is a good reminder to always only eat a little bit the first time you try morels or any wild mushroom to ensure no unpleasant reaction before eating more. Due to this fact, before the season begins, I always find it necessary to mention some tips to avoid getting sick or even worse from the morels ones picks and ingests. I can honestly say that I have never gotten sick from eating morels but I suspect these simple rules have served me well.

1. Never eat any false morels including so called "reds". I know there is much debate about this, but like I said these are my guidelines and so far they have done me no wrong. For more information about the eating false morel debate see this previous post The Debate over Reds - To Eat or Not to Eat.
2. Never eat morels raw. Anything raw can and usually does have bacteria on it. Cooking it, even a fast sauté will destroy the bacteria and save your stomach.
3. Never eat any spoiled or bad smelling morels. This is more important late in the season. Usually if a morel looks or smells bad I just let it be. When I get home I always look mine over thoroughly and cut off any darkened pieces or parts with that rust colored rot starting to set in.
4. Always be sure that you know where they grow. This is by far the most important one because this is how you can actually poison yourself by eating morels. IF IN THE WOODS, YOU ARE GOOD. Never eat morels from lawns, orchards, etc. unless you have verified that the area has not been treated with pesticides or herbicides for a very long time. Any poisons in the soil WILL be absorbed by the mushrooms and if you eat them, by your stomach. For all you Show-Me folks who may have doubts, check out this article on arsenic poisoning by morels.
   Even in the woods sometimes you may have questions. For example, would you eat the morels in this picture (to the left) growing less than a foot from someone's old fruit of the looms? These were out in the woods but they still gave me pause.
5. Never eat too many morels. I know, some of you may argue that there is no such thing as too many morels. But like most things in life, morels and mushrooms are best in moderation.
   
6. Finally, there is the alcohol warning. Some say don't eat morels and drink at all. Others say you can have a beer or two just don't over do it. I have done the later and had a drink or two when consuming morels but never too much. Others swear it just took them a sip, so if you drink, you are going to have to see where your tolerance lies. For those who want to be safe, just stick to soda or some less potent potable.

Well there you have it. Just some general guidelines to follow. After all the time you spend driving and hunting down your patches the last thing you want to see is your half-eaten morels and all that hard work getting literally flushed down the toilet.

They're Here - MO Morels have arrived!

Well, it is official, the reports of morel finds have begun to trickle in from the south parts of our fine state. Yesterday, I received word of finds in both Cape Girardeau and from the Joplin area. That means it can only be a week or so before the first finds in Mid-MO start.

Now before you gas up the car and head south to get in an early hunt or two, let me just warn you by saying these early finds are relatively small. If you are wanting to go on a road trip to find the motherload, you had better head farther south (like to Oklahoma or Texas). The report from Joplin was of three whole morels and my buddy near Cape didn't even pick any of the ten or so blacks that he found because they were all still well under 1/2 inch in size. You can't rush a slowly developing season like this and just have to be patient unless you have the freedom and time to travel, like Camoshroomer did last year when he headed out to Georgia to get his first fill.

Anyway, things seem to be right on time maybe just a 3 or 4 days behind. I expect if we get some good warm days in a row with day time highs above 70 and nighttime lows about 50, then the ground and the morels will really start to heat up, so dust off those old hunting clothes and get them all treated with pyrethrum because it won't be long now. I hope to find my first on Friday (April 2) if I can manage it.

Happy hunting and please keep those reports coming in.