Any good (mushroom) finds lately?

[pushbutton]

Yeah, no one has got to collect on any life insurance policies yet and still have all my digits and limbs. Only a few low breaks with resulting holes in clothing and extremely minor burns. The mosquitos and ticks would have done way more damage if out in the brush Would think the chants are starting to pop right about now. Around here have most often seen them in grassy areas on the outskirts of the timber. Getting a little twitchy and will get out to some of my haunts by the weekend and will get ahold of you if I find any. Still have some shrooms frozen and tons of canned from last year and for now just taking pics.

[john.wells]

I have a question regarding handling mushrooms. Is it OK to handle any given mushroom for the purpose of identifying it without having to worry much? From what I have studied, nobody really touches on this, and some of the mushrooms are flat deadly if eaten even in small amounts. Any advice?

[pushbutton]

Have read both that you can touch really bad ones, and also never to. Guess I have touched some nasty ones and still here typing, but wasn't licking my fingers and rubbing my eyes after either. Having said that, would not really recommend it. Best words of advice is to study up ahead of time on the identifying characteristics your quarry, their possible bad look alikes, and some of the more poisonous varieties that might be present in your area. Locally there are a dozen or so varieties that can rather easily and safely be foraged....similarly there are really not that many really bad ones out there either. The vast majority out there are not going to kill you, but not worth pursuing to eat either.

[Stick in Mud]

I have a question regarding handling mushrooms. Is it OK to handle any given mushroom for the purpose of identifying it without having to worry much? From what I have studied, nobody really touches on this, and some of the mushrooms are flat deadly if eaten even in small amounts. Any advice?

Interesting question....I've wondered this, also. Everything I've read has said that it's OK to handle the really deadly ones.

If you did pick a relatively mature amanita, for instance, you'd most certainly get some spores on your hands or fingers. I don't know if the spores have any of the amatoxins, though...

[Stick in Mud]

I picked up a copy of Michael Kuo's 100 Edible Mushrooms, and he says that he got sick after eating blueberries that had been coated in scleroderma spores, so apparently the spores can do it.

I don't know if the amanita spores contain amatoxins, though. I'd make sure to wash my hands after handling them, though.

Oh, and I finally found some mushrooms that WEREN'T rotten chickens. And I only had to drive 230 miles to do it. I'm down this weekend in SE Minnesota, and I found a nice haul of crown-tipped corals this morning. Yum.

[Stick in Mud]

Well I finally found some chants...only took me 25 or 30 hours of walking around in the woods. Most were a bit past prime, and there was another big bunch of buttons that was just coming up, so I kinda missed it on either side. Either way, a few pounds should last me a meal or two.

Got the first lobsters of the year, too.

I also got one I don't look for all that much: lactarius volemus, or the tawny milk cap. Thankfully its funky odor will go away when cooked, though my hands, after about three washings, are still stained brown.

[Matt Breuer]

I haven't been online much, so I haven't been able to put up any updates!

For the earlier bolete question, yes, those are old man of the woods. I've never found one, and it's on my list. Nice work, great photo bolete!

I just got done with the first weekend I've had off in ages. I spent most of it in the woods with my kids... Loads of shrooms out there. One of the best July's I can recall. If we keep this going into August, it's going to be a blasty!

Chickens and lobsters...

Chants and chicken...

Two of about 20 giant amanitas we found in a tiny area. If only I could be miniature for 2 minutes...

[JP Z]

Very nice picts Matt. I was walking the woods around my house and found 2 boletes so I thought that was cool. We need to get out here in August!

[Matt Breuer]

Now is the time, JP...

[JP Z]

Well yeah I just figured since July is only 1.5 more days that August would be best

[JP Z]

Here is that bolete I found. Very barely had a bluish bruise but could hardly tell. And when I cut it nothing so I'm not sure.

[Matt Breuer]

Unsure on which boletus that is, but if it had any blue staining, even slight, I'd toss it. Orange or red pores and blue staining (aside from one) are the only boletes to be careful of. The rest are edible for the most part. Might not be delicious, but are edible.

[Stick in Mud]

The summer oysters are now out in full force...I'm guessing the cooler weather over the last few days has got 'em going. Unlike the oysters I find most commonly in the spring, the "summer" variety (o. pulmonarius) will grow on any fallen hardwood, not just aspen/popple (the way that o. populinus does).

And yes, the boletes are exposing themselves. I picked a monster lecciunum yesterday (not edible--it had an orange cap) as well as a few boletus subglabripes, which are hard to say and not all that good to eat, imho. I also tried a few other boletes that I couldn't identify with certainty but were safe to eat. Oh, and I saw my first puffballs today--a few very small and soon-to-be edible ones, as well as a few (poisonous) scleroderma.

If someone who's reading this is thinking about heading out into the woods and giving it a shot, now really is the time to get out and walk around...there's a huge variety of edible stuff right now (assuming you know what you're doing, of course...I've also found more than a few deadly amanitas, too). In the last week or so, I've found lobsters, hedgehogs (ok, only one hedgehog), chickens, tawny milkcaps, a few kinds of edible boletes, crown-tipped coral, oysters, chanterelles, and old man of the woods.

Lots of good eaters (and some so-so ones), but the hunt is where the fun is.

[JP Z]

Thanks for the other heads up Muddy Stick, Now I really think I know what my weekend plans are.

[jerkin'm]

The woods I normally hunt around my cabin in Otter Tail county were bone dry and fairly deserted over the past weekend...pretty disappointing after the prior week...need some rain in that area badly..

[Stick in Mud]

I don't know how I missed those pics earlier, Matt. Those are some sweet amanitas!!!

[pushbutton]

The summer oysters are now out in full force...I'm guessing the cooler weather over the last few days has got 'em going. Unlike the oysters I find most commonly in the spring, the "summer" variety (o. pulmonarius) will grow on any fallen hardwood, not just aspen/popple (the way that o. populinus does).

And yes, the boletes are exposing themselves. I picked a monster lecciunum yesterday (not edible--it had an orange cap) as well as a few boletus subglabripes, which are hard to say and not all that good to eat, imho. I also tried a few other boletes that I couldn't identify with certainty but were safe to eat. Oh, and I saw my first puffballs today--a few very small and soon-to-be edible ones, as well as a few (poisonous) scleroderma.

If someone who's reading this is thinking about heading out into the woods and giving it a shot, now really is the time to get out and walk around...there's a huge variety of edible stuff right now (assuming you know what you're doing, of course...I've also found more than a few deadly amanitas, too). In the last week or so, I've found lobsters, hedgehogs (ok, only one hedgehog), chickens, tawny milkcaps, a few kinds of edible boletes, crown-tipped coral, oysters, chanterelles, and old man of the woods.

Lots of good eaters (and some so-so ones), but the hunt is where the fun is.

Pics or it didn't happen Certainly the best time of the year! Jerkin'm and I might have to start picking on you as well with all those fancy words

Looks like you walked onto the set of Alice and Wonderland......have never seen anything like that growing in Mn....those are just straight up sweeeet!!!!!!

[Matt Breuer]

They really are something special. Lots of amanitas up here, but these were ridiculous. The stipe is pressed against my body for scale. Just giants... I think there's something in the ground in that spot, because we found a bunch of scaber stalks there that were the size of a soccer ball. I'm pretty sure fairies and gnomes live there.

[pikestabber]

I finally found a few Lobsters last night (and some WAY over the hill Chants). I know Coor's Light is no Shiner Bock, but I need something with more water in it when I'm out in the woods

[Stick in Mud]

Pics or it didn't happen

Well I tried calling you AND texting you to see if you wanted some of the oysters....surely that's some sort of evidence, no?

[jerkin'm]

All kinds of big words, fairy talk and strange pics of Matt lately...I might have to stick to fishing for the rest of the summer for fear of this forum tuning me into some sort of ummm..............

[Stick in Mud]

A fairly rough weekend of pickin' for me. I put some miles on the truck and went to some new ground, so I'm not sure if my relative lack of success was due to unproductive areas or just really, really dry soil (or kamikaze-like deer flies that forced me to spend more time swatting and cursing than actually looking around). Note to self: When finally remembering the knife, don't then forget the bug spray and head net.

I could've put together a meal with a mix of edibles, but everything was either past prime or growing in singles and doubles. Old man of the woods, a few boletes, a mini-puffball, and that was about it, apart from a variety of rotten stuff.

[pushbutton]

Well I tried calling you AND texting you to see if you wanted some of the oysters....surely that's some sort of evidence, no?

Thats the thing about phones.....they are an excellent form of communication...if you know where they are. On something like day 7 with not having a clue. First few days were tough, now am kind of liking it.......

Similar results as you a few days ago. Been seeing all these pics of all these different shrooms and thought I could easily replicate.....not so much. Hit up some easily accessible proven spots and it was pretty dry and barren. Not one chant or lobster. Found a decent amount of some bolete that appear to be edible, but really do not know what they are .....and not hungry enough to care. Pretty sure a 3 mile walk through the bug infested timber to another ....lower .....proven spot could result in some better finds, but not near motivated enough to do so. Looks like all that rain we got earlier in the year made for an excellent early season, but at least where I live, the primetime so far is kind of a bust.

[Stick in Mud]

Yup, no good pics from me in the last week or so. I'll be headed up to the BWCA tomorrow for a week-long trip...they've been getting some good rain up there, so I'm hoping I'll find some fun ones. Now if only I could convince the crew to carry in a generator so I could run my dehydrator.

[Matt Breuer]

Been a good week. Had 43 lbs. of lobsters go through my hands mid-week, and watched a couple of FM boys pick about 8-10 lbs. today. I was after chants and exotics, so I left the lobsters to them. I did however indulge in some porcini...

...and had fun with some old man of the woods.