The Fawn Mushroom! Is Not the Mushroom That The Fawns Actually Eat!

The Fawn Mushroom.
 (Pluteus cervinus)

The Fawns' Mushroom.
(Boletus edulis)

What a day!   Are we ready for another long post filled with Mushroom Findings, Pictures, and Anecdotes of Wildlife eating your Prized Mushroom Finds?    Well then, Buckle UP!    Because reality is often stranger than fiction.

An example of a real story that is almost unbelievable is the Moose Antler Story.   (I would not believe it if it had not happened to me!) Stranger ( maybe) that that is what happened today.

Mushrooms are calling!

There are stories I have heard as a kid that you had to hurry when the Morels were out because the Deer would eat them.   I have seen plenty of slugs, bugs and an occasional squirrel take a nibble out of one.  But I have never seen a deer eating a mushroom... until today!

Ridges instead of Gills.

Cheryl is surrounded!

Cheryl and I were in the forest near the Coralville Dam today.  After an excellent mushroom expedition a few days ago,  I thought it would be a great time to explore another forest to see if the recent rain triggered any growth.

Chanterelles! 

And MORE!

It did not take long before we found a number of Boletes and Chanterelles.   We have found a few Chanterelles here before, but only a single or two on the way out of the forest.   Today,  that changed.   We easily found a basket full! 

Russulas in with the Chanterelles.

Field Bolete
(Hortiboletus campestris)

Intermixed with them were Field Boletes and Brittlegills.( Russulas) 

Amanita.

Ink Caps

Along with Inkcaps, Amanitas, Fawn Mushrooms,  False Corals, and several other unknown species.   I was very happy with the Chanterelle bonanza,  until we discovered what we thought was a Porchini (King Bolete) that was in the "Pin" stage.    We headed to the place where the Boletes were found before.

The Moment this one dropped the
Porchini he was snacking on. 

Cheryl sees a deer.

Along the way, we found a couple of small Deer along the trail.   They still had their spots and there was no "mother" around.     Perhaps they were out on their own now.

 Cheryl was delighted to find them, until she discovered they were eating something rather large.

Turns out,  they were nibbling on Porchini!     After they wandered up the hill,  we found several King Boletes that they were eating.  We actually watched one drop the mushroom from his mouth as he stood up to look at us.

Cheryl finds one they didn't eat. 

Cheryl finds the ones they were
eating. 

  And a few they had missed.   We were very excited to find Porchini this early in the summer!   In fact,  there were several that we had to pass up because they were past their prime.

Can you find the Bolete in this
picture? 

Today's Catch/ finds. 

I took way too many pictures today.  So many...that after selecting only the "good ones,"  I had 54 pictures to post on the blog.   I can't post 54 pictures on the blog....   No one wants to wade through 54 pictures of Mushrooms...  Many of them redundant Chanterelle pics.

Russula

 ( because Chanterelles and Russulas are so Pretty!)   So I put them in a Mushroom Medley pic that will show off at least a few of the examples of mushrooms we found today.   I just finished helping  Cheryl clean and cut them up for drying.   She saved out a few for another Mushroom Tart for this afternoon. 

Subie needs work!

Cheryl needs Pie! 

There are other things that I could have added to the blog.   I have been working on Subie.   I changed his oil and have been working on that re-emerging rust spots.     And Cheryl has been baking pies and picking blackberries.

Black Berries need Pickin'!

  Seems the black berries are finally beginning to ripen up.   I imagine we will be going out to the trail to hunt for those tomorrow.  We shall see

Todays Mushroom Finds.  Waiting for
cleaning and drying. 

So that is it.   Lots of Mushrooms and a Story that Proves that Deer actually do eat mushrooms.   And they appear to have a distinguished palate for the finer mushrooms in Nature.  The King Bolete is a highly Prized choice edible!    And so are the Chanterelles... which makes me wonder:   Maybe there is a reason we never found many Chanterelles in this forest before.  Do Deer like Chanterelles too?  More research and investigation will be required.    Until then,   thanks for stopping in.