More Mushrooms! The Half-Free Morel.

Windy Morning Run.

Another Morel!

 While out running again,  we found a couple more of the white Morels along the river.  We were planning on hitting one of our summer spots to see if they had finally appeared  there.   Things were looking up!  It was windy, but about 62 degrees and sunny...  A great day for a Forest Walk mixed with a mushroom hunt. 

Half-Free Morel. (Morchella
punctipes.) 

Wind on the Lake.

As normal...these days, the forest was filled.   There were lots cars in the parking lot and we assumed at least a portion of them were also searching for Morels. 

Hollow stem, cap attached half way.

Cheryl is very Excited!

Cheryl was hardly 10 feet down the trail when she spotted this one:  A Half-Free Morel.(Morchella punctipes) Not to be confused with the "false Morel" or any of the Verpa  species. (specifically:
Verpa bohemica)    The stem is attached to the top of the cap... Unlike the half-free Morel where the stem is attached... you guessed it,  Half-way up under the stem.

Verpa Conica, Stem not hollow.

Verpa conica,  The Thimble
Top Mushroom.

Also,  the stem of the Half-free Morel is totally hollow.   As luck would have it, we managed to find a Verpa conica  (Thimble top mushroom.) on our way out of the woods.   I wanted to show the difference side by side.    It is funny that Cheryl and I knew he difference right away.  I guess time and experience in the field actually makes you a little more skilled.

challenging to find. 

Side By Side: Half-free &
Thimble Top

But we still learn new things every day.   I know that the Half-Free Morel was edible... though perhaps not as "robust" in either flavor or texture... But I did NOT know that they are, in fact, TRUE morels!   (Hence the Name: Morchella.)

If you can find these, you are in good
shape to find the big ones.

long step, small cap, poking out of
leaves.

  And I have read that they are best if dehydrated and powdered to mix in recipes, soups, or gravies.  I doubt we will bother with such a small batch as this, but it is good to know for the future.  I imagine that once we get a few more...hopefully the larger White or Yellow Morels,   we will make another Mushroom Tart for the Half-Frees included.

Otherwise,  A few things I wanted to include in the post yesterday, but it was so long... I may as well add them to this one.

A few flowers....  The forest is exploding with color now.  Lots of Dandelions and  flowering trees are popping up and out.  I wanted to get a few of the smaller flowers before they are lost in the mix.

Non-Graceful Diving Osprey.

A Wildlife sighting!  Another snake, though this one is not as colorful as the Milk Snake we found several days ago.    I also wanted to mention.. at least somewhere on the blog, that we saw the Osprey again.  This time, he dove into the water and pulled out a fish.

Non-Graceful Floating Osprey.

 They are NOT as graceful as the Bald Eagles are at fishing.  He hits the water like a diving duck!  I first thought it was a pelican... then a goose...  and finally, as he pulled himself out of the water, we could clearly see his markings.   Did I have my camera handy?  Of course NOT!  It happened so quickly, I never had time.

Beware of the Horseradish. 

Best eaten fresh and warm.

And I figured I would mention Cheryl's Potato and bacon tart.  It had horseradish in the recipe, so I ate most of it. ( Cheryl is not a big horseradish fan....  come to find out.)  It was good and filling,  and I would definitely have it again... if we are not having the Mushroom or Broccoli tarts instead.

Morchella Vs Verpa...Half Side View

Verpa Conica is smooth,
Verpa Bohemica has similar
ridges on the cap.

.What fun Mushroom Hunting and Identification is!   Knowing the difference between the Morchella puncipes and he Verpa bohemica just by sight is something worth bragging about.   And it is one of those trivial bits of knowledge  that   you can impress ( or irritate) your friends at parties... Or total strangers.. Or, in my case.... I don't get invited to parties anymore...  so I'm living proof that it works.  Good thing I don't geek out about fish anymore....

Thanks for stopping in.

FINALLY! There Is A Morel To The Story....

 After 10 years of searching... ( 10 years?  Has it been that long since we moved to Iowa?)  We finally found a Morel Mushroom.  Now, I know you must be thinking... "You guys must Suck at hunting Mushrooms!"   I mean,  that is what I would think...  But No.   We are pretty good at finding them... once we find a spot where they pop up.  We used to find them in Grand Haven all the time.   But we had time to search for them AND we "accidentally" stumbled upon them several times on our walks.   Thus,  accidentally finding a spot where they would grow.   Then it was simply a matter of hitting the same spot year after year when the time was right.

But here in Iowa... we have no clue where to search for them.   Mostly we are working at this time of year..  So we do not have the time to search thoroughly.  Or the conditions are questionable.   But the last three days have been cool, overcast, and tempered with periodic sprinkles.   I would say this seems like the perfect conditions.


But it appears Morels do not like growing in the same forests as the Boletes, Chanterelles, or Russelas.    After a failed hunt yesterday,  I was beginning to think we would only ever find one if we accidentally stumbled upon it on our runs/rides.

That that is pretty much what happened!   Today, along the river trail,   I saw one near a large cottonwood tree. A few steps away,  there were two more!   Cheryl and I became very excited.







I'm not sure of the exact species of Morel this is,  But I would guess it was one of the larger species. ( Yellow?  Giant?)  They reminded both of us of the ones wwe found on Harbor Island in Grand Haven.  They were near the water, only a few at a time, and HUGE!  One of those mushrooms was easily larger than a Coke can!  They were so big, I almost did not ID them because I have never seen Morels that size.

After a few more searches,  Cheryl and I find 4 more.   A passing walker also gave us one she found.  Bringing the grand total to 8 mushrooms!   Would it be enough for a Wild Mushroom Tart?

Well..  Almost.  The recipe calls for 8 ounces of mushrooms and we had only 4.  But Cheryl thought the last attempt at this recipe was a little heavy on the mushrooms anyway.   So...  4 ounces of Morels was all that was used.

It was enough!  I'm thinking that Morels are potent enough to flavor the entire dish with only a handful of mushrooms.  If you add more,  you are just enjoying more mushrooms, but the flavor remains the same.  None of that really mattered though,  we both found the tart to be AWESOME!  In fact,  Cheryl thinks this was the best tasting way to eat Morels ever since we first found them. ( 10 years ago!)  I must agree.   I have only ever had them in some form of Gravy or omelette. It almost seems like a waste eating them that way now.

Well,   They are officially out now.  Meaning:  Cheryl and Ethan will now begin to search in earnest.  If we can discover another few spots where they may grow,  perhaps we will be able to start a tradition of Morels into our Mushroom hunting Calendar.

And Finally...  My Latest Stop Motion.  I may as well post this here... even though the theme seems to be "Mushrooms".   Posing it tomorrow will seem a little belated.  I still have to post the stuff we did earlier this week... Sometimes I just don't have enough days in the week for the blog.   Ah well... Enjoy.   And thanks for stopping in.

A Beautiful Snake In Iowa.

Today, Cheryl and I stumbled upon a Milk Snake while at the Kewash trail.   And wouldn't you know it... I did NOT bring my camera for our evening bike ride.  I figured," What could I possibly capture that we have not seen before?    Well...  Surprise!   And he was so calm and easy going.  He did not immediately run or anything.  I could have taken a dozen pictures of him...had I only had my camera. 

Ah well, with markings as bright and distinct as that, he was easy to identify.   I have never seen one before.   I guess they are members of the "King Snake" family... non-venomous.   About the only thing worth noting for the day...  Other than Cheryl's Rhubarb Tart.

And Finally,  Another Origami Stop Motion.   I might as well keep this post brief since I might have overdid things yesterday.   Enjoy!

Turkey Tail and False Morels. A "Semi-" Successful Mushroom Hunt.

Finding Non-Mushrooms in the
forest.

 Yesterday, it rained just enough to get a decent field capacity ( Soil Science term.) for the land around us.  Most of the heavier rains that had been predicted have either been south or north of us...  Leaving us high and dry.   But,  with that rain,  there was a hint of promise for a successful mushroom hunt.   For that reason, we waited until today to go out.  Weekends on the trails would most likely be crowded anyway.  And nothing keeps people away better than muddy hills, sharp prickers, wait-a-minute vines, and the ever present threat of Poison Ivy. Let's Go!

Common Ink Cap Mushroom.

Find the Bird in this Picture. 

We chose a different forested area than last Thursday;  The forest where we usually find a variety of mushrooms during the summer and fall.   We were encouraged on our evening walk around town last night when we found a large cluster of Ink Caps growing near the golf course.  (Edible... But DON'T drink any alcohol with them for 36 or more hours after.   You will wish you didn't!)   The spring rain was doing its job.

Beefsteak (false) Morel. 

We use to eat these... Opps!

Right away, we stumbled upon a large patch of Beefsteak Morels.  Also known as "False Brain Morels."  They are poisonous.   Or toxic.   But edible!  How do I know?  Because I have eaten MORE of these  than I care to admit  in the past!   We would find them while mushroom hunting and Mom would throw them in some Gravy or sauce...  We would eat them and ... Somehow, either by accident or luck or both... we survived.   Here is why.

The Inside.  These guys were fresh! . 

Not a very good component
of the Beefstake.

These mushrooms have a chemical that, when eaten, combines with your stomach acid to form formaldehyde. ( A "not-very-healthy" thing to consume... in case you did not know.)  However, if cooked properly... Meaning:  COOK AS LONG AS POSSIBLE!  The harmful chemical can evaporate off and they become semi-safe to eat.   I say "semi" because...  well, I'm alive.   But did I get any brain damage or kidney problems because of eating them?   Long term.   The jury may still be out on that one, but in the mean time,  we chose to take only their picture and leave them to the wild.  No point in taking a risk at this point in my life.  ( Still, it is kinda cool knowing that I have eaten a known poisonous mushroom and survived it...  just sayin'.)

A Cluster of Fresh Turkey Tail.

Even though it is soft, I still had to
use my knife to cut it off. 

A slight walk down the trail and we discovered a fresh batch of Turkey Tail! (Trametes versicolor)  I have been looking for these guys for a while now.   I certainly have found plenty of "old samples" on trees.   Quite frankly, Turkey Tail grows Everywhere!   But we always miss them when they are fresh.

So many uses!  For Medicine AND
paper!

See the Ultra-Small Pores?  I was
using a magnifying glass to get
the picure.

 This cluster was soft and leathery and it smells like fish.  ( More towards the "stinky" kind of fish, to be exact.)   There are LOTS of medicinal benefits to Turkey Tail.  With the Dehydrator available, I wanted to dry some out and grind it up to add to my coffee.   ( It is too tough to eat and has a very strong mushroom flavor..)  Add the grounds to tea or coffee and let it steep.  All that medicinal Mushroom goodness will come through.  "Like what?"You ask?  Research suggests anti-cancer and strong immune boosting properties.   The same mushrooms are in my "Mushroom Super Blend"  that I mix with my Hot Chocolate.   Why pay for it when I can find my own?

And lastly,  we found some other "False Morels" (Verpa conica) Known commonly as the "Bell Morel." or "Thimble Fungus."  We did not know exactly which one it was until we keyed it out.  We have found mushrooms similar to these before.

 They are edible, but should be cooked.  Flavor?  Neh?  Not terrible if you mix them with other morels. ( Real morels.)   We chose to simply ID them and add them to the garden.   An interesting find was that they have no gills nor pores on the underside of the cap.   It is always  fun to find something new.

Otherwise,  as for the target species:   It was a Bust!   No morels at all.  Perhaps we are simply in the wrong area, (I don't know... Like IOWA?!?!) because I thought the conditions would have been good. Perhaps they simply do not grow here in Iowa.   I have heard other people saying that they do.. But Cheryl and I have searched many times and have yet to find any.  Even in Habitat that is similar to places we have found them in Michigan.  You would think we would have at least "stumbled" upon them accidentally by now.   But alas... No Morels yet.

But the weather was pleasant and Cheryl suggested we try to enjoy it as much as possible.   we went out for a short 10 mile bike ride on the Kewash trail.  At least the Kewash trail in the farmland had fewer people.  While mushroom hunting this morning,  we were the only car in the parking lot.   By the time we finished,  the parking lot was completely filled!   Too many people itching to get outside makes for crowded nature walks.   But Kewash is fairly remote and has very little to offer folks trying to get a dose of Mother Nature.  Mostly it is just farm smells, tractor fumes, and bird noises.

Ok,  this post is way too long.  (This always happens when I dig up the Mushroom Experiences...)   Perhaps I should have been a teacher after all... But really,  I'm mostly just a nerd about biology.  And Mushrooms are my latest field of interest.   IF you are out hunting Morels...  Good luck!   And if you happen onto a cluster of Turkey Tail...  Maybe give them a bit of a soak in your Tea someday.  Your immune system might thank you.  Thanks for stopping in and suffering through my latest Mushroom "lesson".