Praying For a Spring Miracle
Trout lilies in full bloom!
I’ve been spending quite a bit of time staring at the forest floor recently. My futile and often maddening pursuit of morels continues, as I find myself gazing relentlessly at the parched ground and praying for a spring miracle.
I jinxed myself on the Ides of March, when the bizarrely warm bout of weather sent me into a foraging frenzy recounted in “The March of the Morel.” “Northeastern foragers, watch out – the mighty morel is marching your way at a staggering rate,” I proclaimed, noting that I anticipated fruitful hunting in Vermont by the first week of April “if the current weather pattern continues.”
Apparently that was a big “if,” as the daytime highs soon dropped from the 70s to the lower 40s and the rain decided to check out for a few weeks. With no snowmelt to speak of, this has made for a dry and morel-less early spring throughout much of the region. Small morel finds are starting to trickle in throughout southern New York and Connecticut, and rain is in the forecast for the weekend. There is still hope, but the roaring “March” I had hoped for did not come to pass.
Despite the dearth of morels, I have entertained myself (and annoyed my hiking partners) by scoping out potential host trees with the ferocity of a mama bird looking for a nesting site. “Check out this deliciously decrepit ash . . . and did you even notice the gangly old apple tree in the middle of that bramble patch?”
My morel hunting has even yielded more tangible rewards. Last week I found a nice ramp patch and a few scarlet cups near the base of Hunger Mountain, only to find myself sloshing through a foot of wet snow an hour later as I ascended the peak.
Vermont’s fiddleheads also sprung into season this week, and I have been relishing the emerging fronds of the ostrich fern in all their spirally glory. Fiddleheads are only good eating when the fronds are still short and tightly coiled, so scour your nearby floodplains now to enjoy this ephemeral treat with a flavor reminiscent of asparagus and green beans. While you hunt for fiddleheads, keep an eye out for stinging nettles, a favorite spring tonic when cooked or enjoyed as tea. Vermont’s nettles are at a perfect stage for harvest - just be sure to wear gloves!
As my search for morels becomes increasingly frantic, I am striving to pause and remind myself of the life-affirming beauty of spring’s woodland wildflowers and herbs. One danger forager’s face is that we can become so myopically focused on the edible or medicinal value of the forest that we cease to appreciate the visual feast and simple sense of wonder in the landscape. With trilliums and trout lilies in full bloom and mayapple spears poking up out of the duff, spring is a beautiful time to be in the woods even if you don’t return home heavy with morels. Just watch out for the ugly underbelly of spring – mud, ticks, and allergies!
A mayapple bursting up through the leaves.
