And Then The Boletes Became "Happy."

After several days of rain,  we finally got out into the forest for a little mushroom hunting.  And it ended up not being much of a "Hunt."    For the Boletes were in their "Happy Place."  today.  And Cheryl and Ethan got to cash in on the bounty. 

I initially went out for Chanterelles, hoping the wet weather would kick them off in the numbers we have seen previously. But the goal soon changed the moment we stepped into the woods and Cheryl found three fairly large King Boletes.    I was surprised, figuring we had harvested them all already 6 days ago.  But perhaps the rain triggered a second fruiting....

We found some more and were very excited. Maybe the hill would produce a few as well.   We even found several rather large ones along the way. 

And then.... 

BONANZA!

  There were literally so many Boletes that we simply could not harvest them all.  That is a first for me.  Even Cheryl pointed out that she has never seen me get my fill of mushroom harvesting.   We filled up all of the sacks and the basket and simply could not carry any more.  Along the way, we were able to be picky with our selections.  ( Another perk of having an abundance of Mushrooms!)  

The slugs and Yellow fungus definitely claimed their share. Under normal circumstances,  I would harvest mushrooms despite having slugs on them.   ( Slugs don't eat too much...) But today,  I would leave them be. 

And then there were even MORE!    Trails and clusters of them everywhere!  The Camera could not capture the entire scene.  Everywhere you looked, in every direction!  Even in places we had never found them before.   The King Boletes were Definitely happy today. 

We did managed to find a handful of  small Chanterelles and three Lobsters.  The Russulas were also out, along with a number of Amanitas.   I would have loved  searching for more species, even if only to photograph. But the heavy weight of the Boletes were beginning to fatigue me and the rain began to pick up.   Yes, yes,  It simply would not be a Bolete Hunt if it did not rain a  during the foraging. 

Back home,  I just finished chopping them up and setting them up for drying.  Looks like this will take a few days.   The dryer is completely filled and I still have several pans waiting for the next opening.  My cup overfloweth!  

A couple of finds today.  We found the White King Bolete. Boletus barrowsii  A paler version of the King Bolete.   I have to chop it up to see if it has some worm damage OR if it bruises blue.  It does not look like it will.   But I think it is highly likely that it is not the toxic look-a-like. ( I may have to sample a little on my own before adding it to the bounty.)  We found three of them.  And Cheryl is convinced we probably have several different version of Boletes in our mix.  I just know they are all edible... ( except the white ones....  Yet.) 

A rainbow color of Slugs were having a Great Feast today,

Our hunting was cut short simply because we had more than we could carry.   I like days like that.   It sometimes makes me want to get out there again as soon as possible.  However,  our Dryer is at capacity currently, and will probably be like that for the next several days.    I'm hoping we get plenty of Boletes and can begin work on the Chanterelles, Lobsters, and other delectable s.   Thanks for stopping in.