There is so much to learn.Starting with mushrooms: Dryads Saddles

Here’s what I’m dining on after a long day foraging. The plants are listed below. I like to take a moist paper towel and wipe each leaf, rather than immersing them in water. It’s effective at removing any soil from the leaves. I only harvest blossoms that are free of dirt.

This is a wonderful way to plant a garden.

Instead of planting seeds in rows, create furrows in the shapes of the letters of your name and watch the magic grow!

According to my experts, morel season is over. So this Morchella esculenta, or yellow morel, was an amazing find. There isn’t much else to say. Foraging is typically a surprise.

I’m blessed with mentors this year. Charlene “Bird Lady” Miller and I first met on Jon Young’s Wilderness Awareness School Forum. This past weekend I finally got to meet her. I took along my photos and videos for identification. Bird Lady is a retired Wildlife Rehabilitator with expertise in passerines.

I’m blessed to wake to the sounds of robins and cardinals chattering. This morning, I also got a visual treat. It rained and then the temperature cooled by 20 degrees or more. I hope this encourages morels.

The days are still getting longer, making it easier for animals to get around. Here’s who was out and about this morning: This porcupine is aware I’m watching. Porcupines cannot “throw” their quills. Quills penetrate the skin of animals that touch them.

I am so excited to have the opportunity to learn. I found these mushrooms growing at the edge of a farm field on dead elm logs. Their common name is Mica Cap (Coprinus micaceus). They are not as wonderful as the Shaggy Mane mushroom (Coprinus comatus), but they are edible. I’d be remiss if I [...]

Spring beauties bloom almost as early as dandelions. The flowers and tiny buds look really beautiful in an early spring salad. I used Billie Joe Tatum’s recipe for preparing the tubers, but I found the outer shell tasty, like a potato skin. Here are some other ways to use spring beauties:

There’s something really magical about finding a fresh mushroom in the woods. Now that I have experts to consult, I’m motivated to take photos and harvest potential new foods. I sent this off to COMA folks and sure enough, this is a wild mushroom known as Dryad’s Saddle (Polyporus squamosus). It smelled like watermelon, but [...]