A Moderate Mushroom Day... With Moths!

There are always rainbows after
 storms...  

Bad day fishing means
fewer fish to clean....

Whenever we would go fishing with Dad,  there would be times when we were just happy not to get skunked!  "Fewer to Clean!" was Dad's way of looking on the bright side.   And it was a bright side!  Having to NOT have to clean a pail full of fish at 9:00 PM!  After a long day of being baked in the sun.

Bolete!  Lost to the "Bolete
Destroyer" fungus. 

And it is those moments that I think of when we have a day like today Mushroom Hunting.  "At least we didn't get skunked!"   And the fewer mushrooms means that there is less to clean and dry and fuss about.

We found a few Lobsters. 

Sharing the Boletes with the Deer..
Again! 

 Cheryl noted that this was actually a "typical hunt".  In fact, I would say it was probably better than typical.   We managed to find a few large King Boletes, Several Lobsters. A number of smaller Boletes, Including a couple of NEW species!    ( Such fun! I'll get to that shortly...) A handful of Chanterelles, And I even found another Milkcap!     I remember a time when we would find only a small number of Chanterelles and Field Boletes and be happy with that.  Oh, how our standards have changed.....

Mushroom hunting while
running on the Kewash Trail. 

After the rain....

Cheryl also noted that it is possible that the forest is taking a break after several weeks of "fairly decent conditions" for Mushroom fruiting.  ( She is SO Smart!)  Even the cultivated mushrooms have to rest for several weeks before a second fruiting. ( sometimes farmers don't even wait for that, and throw away the blocks after the harvest.)  But I digress.....

Several Clusters of Fresh
Woodear!  

More Blackberries along the Trail.
However,  Storage is becoming an
issue! 

We have had several harvest of Oysters from our favorite logs,  and a number of Boletes from the same area.  I'm sure there are other mushrooms that have been waiting their turn and will begin popping up within a week or two...again. In fact!  I just harvested several large clusters of Woodear from the Kewash Trail yesterday during Cheryl's run.

Gold Stem and Pores,  No Blue
stain when bruised!  

Butterfoot Bolete.  

A few examples are the species we have not found previously!   One is the "Butterfoot Bolete!"(Boletus auripes) They look just like the Field bolete, but have yellow stems and do NOT bruise blue!   (How fun is that!) They are edible, just like the Field Bolete. Judging from the hunks of pores missing,  I'm assuming they must be tasty.

Squirrels stealing our Mushrooms! 

"Sampling" each one...
for flavor?  Or just to
annoy us?

Speaking of the Field Bolete.. and the things that want to eat them... Cheryl and I have been battling the local squirrels for the Boletes in the neighborhood!  Over the last several days, we have harvested a LOT of field Boletes from our yard, the Kewash Trail, and our neighbor's yard.   The squirrels often beat us to the find and eat their fill... OR just take "sample bites" out of each mushroom.    Like a little kid with a cookie!

Dusky Bolete!( the one I found was
much smaller) 

Another exciting find was the "Dusky Bolete" (Porphyrellus porphyrosporus)  Apparently,  they are rare in these parts. ( or no one else has bothered to find and catalog them before)

Gray/brown/dark pores... 

Slow Bruising blue... changing to
red-ish brown!  So cool! 

  They are listed as "Possibly edible"  and one source says they are...   So 50% chance that things would work out if I wanted to eat it.  But since it is so small... and since we have a TON of other mushrooms that have to be eaten ahead of it...  There really is no reason to take the chance at this time.   However,  it was cool finding a rare-(ish) mushrooms in our forest in Iowa.  "Don't be the First"  to eat an unknown mushrooms. (Paul Staments.)

Can you see the moth? 

How about now?  Hint:  Find the
red of the Underwing...

So... Other than a Dud Mushroom day,  we did manage to see several Moths of unusual size.   A Hawkmoth ( unidentified) and an Underwing.   See if you can spot the Moth in this Picture!

Golden Raspberries!  

Hmm...things are looking a little
'crowded' inside the freezer. 

Overall,  Our Foraging success is beginning to wane as the season passes and our storage facilities become cramped and filled to overflowing!    Cheryl can barely fit an ice cube tray into the Freezer with all those Wild Berries we picked.  We still have Mulberries from earlier  in the spring!

Today's Basket of Goodies.

Dried Mushrooms So Far This year.
Not counting the ones we have
 already eaten!

And then there are the Mushrooms.   Golden Oysters are the Big Winner!  With Chanterelles and Boletes coming in second.   The King Boletes and Lobsters are noteworthy!  And Cheryl would like to find more of those.... Because you can never have too many Lobsters.  In fact,  She has saved out the largest Lobster Mushroom to cook up with some Udon Noodles for later.   Fresh mushrooms are the best!

Cheryl prepares to make the
next batch. Soap-making 101!

Mixing the Lye with Distilled
water.  Who said High School
Chemistry was worthless?

As this post continues to get longer,  I will just say that I continue to work on the Dragon video.. ( may post another snip-it later)  and Cheryl continues with the soap.  Shout out to "Far Side.."  for the Jewelweed soap tip.   Cheryl has  known about this "secret poison ivy cure" ever since she started this little adventure.  In fact,  it was one of the "reasons"  she got into this little hobby in the beginning.

Jewelweed.  Snapdragon looking
flower. 

Our goal!  We must really hate
Poison Ivy to invest so much time for
treatment!

We have yet to find some.  ( Looking for that orange orchid looking flower for 100% ID) I think I have seen it on the Kewash Trail many times before.  I even think I can ID it based off of the leaves... But Cheryl wants to be sure before dropping an unidentified weed into her Soap.   I can get behind that.

I'll save my Iowa City Rant for another day.   And perhaps post a finished  video one of these days...   Until then.  Enjoy the cooler Weather!  And Thanks for stopping in.