ForageCast: The Weight

Yellow foot chanterelles - one of countless gourmet species currently fruiting in the Northeast!

Take a load off my fanny pack. Take a load for free.

That just about sums up how I felt as walked out of the woods yesterday, my back almost crumbling under the weight of innumerable mushroom-filled paper bags.

Fortunately, I have plenty of friends who are always more than willing to lighten my load.  On the way back from the foray I picked Jenna up at our neighborhood coffee shop, where I traded mushrooms with a baker friend for just out of the oil fried dough.

Before I had even left the café I received a call from another friend eager to claim his share of the bounty. I told him to meet me back at my home, where the selection would be even greater. He didn’t waste any time, arriving, soaked in sweat, within minutes of my return. 

In Ithaca, all the fall mushroom species are out in full force. Had it not been for the black trumpets, lion’s mane, porcini, yellow feet, hedgehogs and blewits weighing me down on yesterday’s hike, I actually might have stopped to pick a few of the thousands (literally) of honey mushrooms and hundreds of aborted entolomas I saw along the trail.  I don’t have anything against these mushrooms, but it’s hard to get excited by ground beef when you have unlimited free filet mignon!

ForageCast for the next two weeks!