It’s morel mushroom season here in the Midwest, and with all our intermittent rain and sunshine these little fungi should be popping up all over the place. “Should” of course being the operative word.
So while my husband was away this weekend, my son and I scoured the Three-Acre Wood in search of a few of these natural, odd looking but tasty treats. Well, let me be clear, I scoured while my son crawled through holes, picked up rocks and chased frogs. We covered some ground in the sultry sun of a Saturday afternoon as we ventured over hills, down ravines and around marshes, which can be a bit difficult to navigate when your eyes are firmly focused on the ground.
About the time I was ready to call it quits and help my son in his frog finding endeavor, he yelled, “There’s a morel!” I had been so busy finding my footing as we steeply headed toward a swampish (and froggy) looking spot, that I had forgotten the task at hand. But sure enough, there it was — one of the biggest morels I had ever seen with my own two eyes.
I swear our son is like the morel whisperer. He just looks up, and Bam! There they are. So when I asked him how he found this particular super-sized shroom, he simply stated, “You can’t look for them or you won’t find them.” Right. . . this coming from a child who can’t find his own shoes in the middle of the kitchen floor. Nevertheless, he is pretty successful at finding morels, even when he isn’t looking, so I thought I would share my eight year old’s advice on how to find these finicky fungi.
HIM: Don’t look for them.
ME: Seriously?
HIM: Where there’s one, there’s more.
ME: Apparently not so.
HIM: Looking for morels makes you thirsty. Take something to drink.
ME: Agreed
HIM: It’s more fun when you find frogs (or tadpoles on this particular day).
ME: The swamp full of tadpoles was pretty cool.
So there you have it — an eight-year-old boy’s advice for finding morels. It’s not a very scientific list, but it does seem to be just as successful as any other tips I have ever received. Plus, if you search with someone you love, it makes for a pretty fun-gi day, mushrooms or not.
