I've been curious about morels for several seasons now. I've made a few attempts to seek them out in our local forests with no luck. As recently as two weeks ago, I was poking around at the forest floor in a fruitless effort. I had all but given up until last night when I was mowing the lawn on a mundane spring evening. I was up near an old fence line at the front edge of our property near our chicken coop and hammock posts. Imagine my surprise when I nearly tripped over THIS!
I immediately turned the mower off and dropped to my knees. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This amazingly beautiful mushroom that had eluded me for so long was right in my damn yard! Completely awesome. I've always heard that when you see one, you need to stop and slow down. Look around - there will be more. And there were. Four of them that I could see on our side of the fence line. I consulted with a friend who is heavy into mycology and she confirmed what I thought to be true. They were
Classic Yellow Morels.
I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing so I didn't immediately pluck them from the earth, however my friend confirmed that this was okay. I didn't want to ruin future harvests by taking them all. She said that the spores has likely already been released and as long as I didn't disturb the underground structure, we would be fine for future years.
So, they've been pinched from their foundations and will make their way to our bellies tonight. Perhaps paired with some venison backstrap. Local eating at its finest! Food reports to follow.....
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