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| Boletes! And me without my camera. |
Another rainy day today, and Cheryl ran only 5 miles. After 15 yesterday, I'm surprised she ran at all. But she hinted at looking for some mushrooms in this cool wet weather. I have to admit, I was a little less than enthusiastic about it. I figured it was too late for many of my favorite mushrooms... but what the heck else are we going to do with all that spare time.
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| Not my pic, bu it looked like this. |
I was slightly encouraged by a small find of Golden Oysters sprouting from a new location. They were past their prime ( rain always causes them to "speed up" their life cycle.) But I grabbed a few just for seed dispersal purposes. I had hoped that the Chicken of the Woods might still be possible if we scoped out a new forested area. One we have not been to since mid summer. We headed towards the Corralville Dam.
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| Our table filled with Boletes! |
We immediately were greeted by a "Double Header" Bolete! Two Boletes had sprouted up and merged their caps together to form one seamless cap. Cheryl was excited, but I was skeptical. I had never seen Boletes behave this way.
However, a little further, We found more... and then more.
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All fresh! ( rare) even then, some of
the bugs had a snack on them. |
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| Bruising brown. A Identifying characteristic.... |
The Boletes have been very annoying so far this year. they come out and we miss them, finding the old, bug eaten remains on weekends or along trails as we bike. Whenever we actively search for them, it has been too early, too late or just to dry. We know where they grow, but timing is everything!
Wouldn't you know it was a day when I left the camera at home. Cheryl says I should leave the camera at home more often if I want to find the good mushrooms. I am beginning to see the logic in that statement.
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| Velvety Top. |
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| Pores on the underside. |
There were LOTS of mushrooms sprouting up. It was also raining on us as we searched. I was happy we only focused on Boletes ( And a couple green netted Russulas.) There were Amanita "Destroying Angels" all over the place. ( Deadly, but very pretty....) And lots of various red Russulas. We even found a half -eaten Lobster Mushroom. Had I had my camera, I would have taken DOZENS of pictures!) Corts and Orange waxy caps were very striking in the dim light. Very pretty.
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| Bolees Ready for Drying. |
So now that we have them home, Cheryl is trying out an idea on how to preserve them. Drying did not work very well with the Maitaki mushroom, but hopefully, things will work out with thinly sliced Bolete. We are not even sure what type of Bolete they are: The King, Summer, or Pine Bolete are all candidates. One thing is certain, they are all tasty. I have sampled them ( Cheryl thinks there may be three types here... judging my color of the cap.) and found them all delicious. So....No bitter Boletes in the mix at least.
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| Running out or racks and table space! |
After I post this I will have to find how the "experts" do it. I know some folks can or pickle the Maitaki and Chicken of the Woods mushrooms. We are not equipped for that process. So drying racks are all we have at the moment.
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| Hiro hides from Cheryl. |
As the rain continues, the cats have been scarce for the day. I'm sure they are warm and dry somewhere and will only arrive when they get hungry. As for Hiro, He has discovered that under the couch is a great place to hang out so Cheryl can't bother him. He only comes out when I enter the room.... This makes Cheryl very jealous.
Hope everyone is having a safe, warm and dry day today. Thanks for stopping in! And if you have Boletes growing in your area, get outside and give them a search. They are totally worth it.
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