Happy New Year to  all of my fungal friends! It was a great year for mushrooms, and I am looking forward to another great year ahead.

The wild mushrooms were thick in the fall this year. The conditions  provided some large quantities of mushrooms, that are normally difficult to find.

We started out in the spring with oyster mushrooms on cottonwoods. They were plentiful, and a delicious way to start the season. My grandsons and I picked a couple of grocery sacks full on one picking adventure.

There were some morels, shortly after that.  I found enough to satisfy my craving,  before the general public found out they were flushing. The picking got competitive after that!

The chanterelles were a special, and at times, unbelievable treat this year. Seasoned pickers said it was the best flush in 15 years. They were plentiful and easy to find.

And if that wasn’t enough, there were boletes as big as your head to be had. Rounding that out with hedge hogs, tree ears,  and various edibles…it was a good year for wild mushrooms !

We will talk about mushroom growing projects from 2009 next!