morels

One of the treats we get from going to the ranch is the morel mushrooms that grow there in the spring. Some years are good & some not so good. Don's aunt Mardene said she'd heard this wasn't a good year. So Friday evening when we arrived we set out for a spot where we've found them before. I think we found five.











So late Saturday morning we set out again. They can be hard to spot; they blend into the flora.



We startled a turkey hen off her nest.





Found other mushrooms too. Don't know if these are edible or not.







Don pauses to watch two turkey hens that haven't spotted us yet.





After wandering around for several hours we had found fifty mushrooms. It didn't seem like a lot for the effort but we were grateful to find those. We layed out the mushrooms on paper so they wouldn't mold before getting them home.





Hanging out Saturday evening with family & friends. Doug (friend, far left) got a turkey early in the day. Terry (Don's brother) ended up getting a turkey Sunday afternoon. Don (third from left). Doug (right) is Don's cousin who lives nearby & stopped by to visit & eat supper with us.



Ultimately we came home with a lot of mushrooms. Don went back out Saturday evening to hunt turkeys & found mushrooms in a spot he hadn't found them before. So we did enjoy some fresh mushrooms fried in butter. The rest we dried & stored in an airtight container. When we want to use them we'll just reconstitute with water. We'll be able to enjoy them year round.
Note: All photos this post taken with my point & shoot camera (Canon G7) in the auto mode. The macro setting was used for close ups.