Three Days of Drying!

 Today marks the third day for drying the Boletes.   I FINALLY got the last set of trays in the dehydrator.  I was a little worried that the mushrooms would go bad before I could get them all finished.   It took nearly 3 hours just to clean and slice them all!   I used up every pan, sheet, rack and flat surface to set them all out, and still had to stack them on top of each other.   ( Hint:  They don't dry very well when they are stacked up themselves.)  

But the dehydrator has been going non stop for three days now.   I'm sure this last batch will be nearly finished just after I go to bed tonight.  I doubt rotating the racks will speed up the process much, but will do it anyway.  

It has been raining the last three days as well.   Triggering a number of other mushrooms to grow in the neighborhood.   I so want to get out there and chase the Chanterelles, but we would not be able to do much with them until all of the boletes are completely dry, so there would be no point.  That being said, I still managed to pick a couple handfuls from our own yard.  Yes!  Chanterelles grow right along side the fence under a large oak tree.   Usually, they are pretty small, so even during a good year, I don't have much to show for the privilege.  

Hope everyone is staying dry in this wet and wild July.   I'm pretty happy about the conditions so far.   Rain, but very few storms or floods.  Slightly humid, but cooler air is on its way tomorrow. ( or so they tell us. )  We shall see how things work out.  Maybe we will be able to get out there for Chanterelles after all.  Fingers crossed!