I was born in Indiana, but only started living here about 10 years ago.
My wife, however, is a lifelong resident and every year around April/May she and her family enjoy Morel mushroom hunting on their family farm.
This long standing multi-generational tradition combines a love of the outdoors, hiking, and physical fitness with naturalism, biology, and resource management.
Morel mushrooms are very difficult to cultivate and in some areas may fetch up to $100 per pound. When people find a good hunting area, they tend to protect it.
They can also be very difficult to locate, so it is wise to seek hunting areas where conditions are BEST for MORELS to grow...
Most serious hunters develop a system...
Morel mushrooms can also blend in perfectly with the leaf covered forest floor...Can you spot the Morel in this pic?
How about NOW?
As you see, hunting Morels is more about location and woodsmanship, than mushroom identification...
They have a quite distinctive look and are very easy to identify.
Once a hunter finds their first exotic wild mushroom, they are forever hooked on the activity and find themselves looking for mushrooms everywhere.
...and typically...as the saying goes around here...Where there is ONE, there have got to be MORE!
This one was shot from about 17 yards while emerging from a clearing...
And while this Morel was what some would consider too small for harvest, it was charging towards my wife to protect its young.
These two seem to be the perfect size and as you can imagine could add to any hardy meal!
So while I enjoy, as I hope you read in my previous blog, cultivating Oyster mushrooms at home...there is nothing like the thrill I get from the smell of fried Morel mushrooms and gunpowder in Indiana in April.
Thanks for reading.
Tell us about your traditions.
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This is the one mushroom I will pick with confidence. My great-uncle had over a half dozen locations, mostly in Indiana, but a couple in Michigan, too. He'd take my sis & I along to help gather them. He said we had better luck finding them since we were 'closer to the ground'.
;~P
And, yes, they do still sell at premium prices...
Ah morels! I’m from Indiana too. It’s a Hoosier spring pastime! One of my favs <3 mmm looking yummy!!
Hey fellow Hoosier!
Following!
I also grew up in IN. My grandfather would take me and my sisters mushroom hunting every spring. Your post brought back post of good memories. Thank you
thanks for reading fellow Hoosier!
genial que esa tradición perdure muchos años!!!
great
What is promised is friend debt @urbanhomesteader
I presented @darlys