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5-11-08
I had a good feeling that this year would be good for morels, and that turned out to be very true. I normallly add some sort of entry for the first "hunt" of the season. For me, the thrill of the hunt is all worth it. I actually can't even eat these things since the last few times I have tried, I've become pretty sick. I suppose some people's bodies can't just hack certain things. Without sounding too corny or cliche, there is just something magical about being out in the woods that is just thrilling enough for me. It is almost a certain kind of zen. The thrill of the hunt does me just fine. I know it's just a fungus, but for some people it's like gold. I also get enjoyment out of giving them away at the end of the season.
Anyway, I'm really behind on this entry and some of these pictures are from numerous outings on different days, so I don't really feel like captioning too much.
I'll start off with the mammoth my dad found in my grandma's yard. She has a few apple trees, and if you come upon one in the woods that is dead, chances are you'll score. The thing is, all of hers are alive. For some reason this one liked growing conditions and made a statement in the yard. This is by far the biggest one I've ever seen in person.
This first one below was my first real outing of the year. The next two are actually false morels. These are the first two I have ever seen in person. They are also referred to as beefsteak mushrooms and can be pretty poisonous if they aren't prepared correctly. I'll just pass and not take any chances.
Half-free morels. I found a TON of them on my first outing, but no true morels yet. These aren't sought after like the true morels are, but they do signal the start of the season.
This is a different day now. My buddy Jeff Ballard and I went to a private wooded area (with permission, of course, thanks to Jeff). A few years back we hit the jackpot in these same woods, but this year not so much. Nevertheless, this is my first true morel of the season! I found a total of 6, all grays. Still pretty early on here.
These next ones were all found on private land in Clarence, IA. If you can ever get a chance to hunt private land, do it! My brother Josh and I would rake in the next week hunting here.
Our combined finds along with a deer shed. The season is just now starting to roll. It'd only keep getting better.
Now at Dorrance Park in Port Byron. I was about ready to give up on this hunt, but finally hit a dead elm which had quite a few nice yellows.
This was after our next visit to Clarence. I didn't bring my camera with me this time, but I had to get an after shot. There are 218 total. The top bunch are Josh's find and the bottom obviously mine. Not too shabby!! I would like to know how many pounds total we had.
Back at Dorrance once againe. I always seem to find different areas that I have never been before, but were very close. This was actually getting pretty late in the season and grays were STILL popping. This is very unusual considering they are normally about done by Mother's Day.
I think this is close to #400 if I counted correctly. What a freaking year.
I saw this guy on the way home from huting. He was originally right by the road, but was scared off when I pulled up. He kept pacing back and forth like he wanted to cross the road, but was apparently intimidated by my truck. This was the closest he'd get to me, and that wasn't very far. This was all the way out at 400mm.
This was my second to last outing of the year. These were ALL found under one tree. I actually left close to 30-40 dead/dying ones too. That was, by far, the most I have ever seen produced by a single elm...a surfire sign of a killer year! I hope next year will be the same.
