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I’m not sure why the tree ear (Auricularia auricula) is considered edible and the black jelly roll (Exidia glandulosa) pictured below, is not.

But if COMA mentors Dianna Smith or Gary Lincoff say a mushroom is edible. I trust them.

I had to study this photo and compare it with the tree ear photos online to see the difference. I added these to a home-made vegetable soup. The texture was fine and the flavor barely detectable.

From my point of view, there is a big difference between a mushroom that is boring, but edible and a mushroom that is toxic.

I’m not sure I’d want to sit down to a plate full of Exidia glandulosa or Auricularia auricula, for that matter. But these jelly fungi are a pleasing addition to a slow-cooked soup.

After an unusually hot, dry April, May has brought needed rain. Today’s COMA hike brought a harvest of morels that exceeded all of last year’s morel finds.

Typically the black morel fruits first, followed by the half-free morel (Morchella species) and the yellow morel arrives later. But everything is fruiting and blooming at the same time in the wild and in the garden.

Add ramps and wild garlic - and the meal is the best ever.

I have found Dryad’s Saddle (Polyporus squamosus) before, but this one is much bigger. It’s a delicious edible, but it kills the host tree.

April 2008 was unusually warm and dry, but once it started raining, the mushrooms are beginning to fruit.

Now I’ll get to see just how much I learned at Mushroom U.

I’m walking more. Yesterday I visited a bicycle shop. The only way to send a message to the oil companies is to vote with our pocketbooks.

This madness of suspending the gasoline tax for a few weeks has only strengthened my resolve to find another way to reach my destination. I am blessed, because I also have access to public transportation.

But the most empowering thing that has happened to me recently is the discovery that I can actually walk to my favorite hiking trail. The trail head is closer than the hikers’ parking lot.

I cringe when I think of how long I have been driving to a place within walking distance.

I might never have made that discovery if gasoline prices had not risen beyond my willingness to pay.

If the Canada goose had not jumped off her nest, I might have stepped on her. I love finding nests, but not when I create a disturbance.

I was delighted to discover Cornell’s Nestcam, which lets me watch the activities of several species of birds, revealing images I might not otherwise get a chance to see.

If you look at the images on the top of this page, you’ll see photos of trout lily, ramps (wild leeks), and wild garlic, which thrive in the woods at this time of year.

One advantage gardening has over foraging is that I don’t have to worry about disturbing poison ivy. I got out to Harmony Farm early enough yesterday morning to harvest enough chickweed for a week’s worth of salads and side dishes.

The chickweed has engulfed the spinach that had been planted last autumn. Any farmer will tell you that a weed is a plant growing where you don’t want it to grow. No one ever told me weeds were not tasty and nutritious. I trimmed the tops of the chickweed with a scissors, but before I got down to uprooting them, my mentor showed up with more important work for me. (more…)

When I tasted Joe Brandt’s Japanese knotweed salad, I couldn’t wait to try it for myself. Joe is that rare combination of skill and artistry in the field and in the kitchen. Try this first, then read on to see what I did for a variation on this salad.

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The price of gasoline is beyond excessive. So, I have a new personal rule: if it’s within four miles, I walk. I have discovered a hiking trail less than a mile from my home. I can walk to the post office, two food stores, three bus stops and a train stop in less than a half hour.

I even passed two car rental agencies in my trek on foot. The bus and train can get me to other hiking trails, a major city and even an airport, should I need it. If I can carry a backpack with camping gear, I can carry groceries in the same pack. (more…)

I was not the one to find the first morel of the year. Luckily, I’m very fond of my friend Zaac, who has a wonderful ability to spot an emerging morel in leaves.

I was surprised to see how much time this garter snake spent checking me out:

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Mycologists in Michigan and West Virginia are already reporting their morel findings. I figure it’s never too soon to begin checking under the leaf litter.

I didn’t find morels, but trout lilies and wild garlic are abundant and easy to gather in this pliable earth. The first violet leaves are emerging. My little woodland patch of knotweed is also sending up tiny shoots.

While I was foraging, so was this hawk. I didn’t click at the right time to get a photo of the catch. But this tolerant bird hung around close enough to let me photograph the feast.