Over 20°C, Finally

At the end of May we finally got several days with temperatures getting over 20°C. Morel season is winding down and some other mushrooms start to show.  The regular sight is Dryad's Saddle


DSCN3493


and usually some Ink Caps.


DSCN3480


At this time Oysters come in small bunches.


DSCN3494


The leaf canopy is fully established and around Great Lakes humidity starts to be annoying.  Soon it will be time to harvest Ramps for pickling.


The waterfalls around Hamilton are full of water and quite beautiful.




[caption id="attachment_1501" align="alignnone" width="3264"]DSCN3481 Sherman Falls[/caption]

Mayapple is in full bloom.


DSCN3497.JPG


Always amazes me how well is wildlife adapted and blends in.


DSCN3498.JPG


Comments

  1. MomentumMikey25 May 2016 at 06:26

    great pictures, thanks. question for you- have you figured out the best way to get all the little white worms out of the oysters???? we've found tons this spring, but had to let them float in water for about an hour till the worms all came out. I love the taste and consistency of the oyster, but definitely more work because of insect larvae! keep enjoying those woods my friend! momentummikey :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. prijotaso25 May 2016 at 06:58

    I do exactly the same. A lot of people just overlook the infestation. I sometimes put them in the dryer for couple of hours. That also eliminates majority of worms. Unfortunately, you can never be 100% sure. I tend to pick very young clusters, hoping to beat the worms and bugs. We are at disadvantage; bugs have a couple of million years of the head start to figure out when and where to find mushrooms.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Morels 2 (2016)

Image
Encouraged by the finds couple of days ago I visited one of my best spots for Morels .  There was no trace of any mushrooms yet. The only thing indicating something is going on are several Dryad's Saddles in very early stage of growth. The Trillium is everywhere, showing great variations in color. I did find many small patches of Ramps. All of them were too small to harvest.   I will try again on Weekend.
Read more

October 17, 2016

Image
Seems like I dismissed warm weather a little too early. Today expected daily high is 27°C! The forecast is still factoring in humidex! In the woods the fall change is well under way. I guess trees are reacting to calendar as much as couple of cold nights. The colors are amazing. All the shades of green, yellow, brown and red are present. On the floor of the woods big flourish of Honey Mushrooms has passed. There are still some around but big clumps are gone. At this time they are frequently infested by bugs. I found numerous traces of heavy harvesting. Blewits are showing in numbers. As usual they are forming partial or full fairy rings. Due to worm weather some of them are still buggy. This is excellent edible, definitely one of my favorites. Blewit color can vary greatly and it is not recommended for the beginners. For me the odor is one of the main characteristics for recognition. [caption id="attachment_3115" align="alignnone" width="663"] Clitocybe n
Read more

Morels 3 (Fiddleheads) (2016)

Image
Temperatures dipped back to near zero over several nights.I tried  foraging in North York Regional forest with zero result. The consolation price for the weekend of May 14th were fiddleheads. There is some controversial info on the web about fiddleheads. Some sources have a warning about carcinogenic compounds found in several species of fern.The fact is they are still  sold in grocery shops in Ontario. I limit my foraging to Ostrich Fern . It is easily recognized by 3 characteristics: Dark green, almost bluish in color Paper like membrane (visible on picture bellow) Presence of characteristic spore bearing fronds Anyway, I follow recommendation of Government of Canada and cook my fiddleheads thoroughly, just in case. The fiddlheads season is very short. The best way to preserve is to blanch(cook in boiling water 2 minutes, shock with cold water to stop cooking), dry and put in freezer bags). Fiddleheads have a great, buttery taste and can be eaten as side dish or cooked veg
Read more