Despite a prolonged dry spell, the woods are brimming with boletes. September mornings have found the forest heavy with river valley fog, and host trees are generously sharing groundwater with my favorite mycorrhizal fungi.

Yesterday was the first day of fall, and it seems we have hit a turning point in the foraging season. After a mediocre summer harvest, fall has announced its arrival with a formidable flush.

I want to love Leccinums, the scaber stalk boletes. They are hefty and often abundant from June through October in Ithaca, and their solid, pockmarked stalks make them profoundly satisfying to pick. In the right patch, I can fill up a basket in minutes, and Leccinums are some of the only mushrooms that actually provide a good bicep workout as I carry my haul out of the woods.