July brought rains to Port Orford, and with them came a few of the first of the season's edible mushrooms ... right on schedule. July's never a banner month for chanterelles, but it's a hint of what is to come later in the year. These early mushrooms soon dehydrate themselves, and are frequently small, even stunted due to the lack of abundant moisture. Now, it's the first of September, and we're holding our breath, waiting for some drenching rains to quench the thirst of all that inhibits the forest floor.
While we waited in August for the rains, we set a course for points NE, flying to Boston, renting a car and driving up into New England and into Canada's Maritime Provinces: New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. As always, we were on the lookout for mushrooms. Acadia National Park, one of our first destinations, didn't let us down. We found amanita in several pullouts when driving along the park's circular route.
Many stops in Canada similarly gifted us with a glimpse of the richness and diversity of the landscape. There was much to see and do, but the most spectacular encounter in the Maritimes wasn't fungal; in New Brunswick, we were fortunate enough to see the world's most extreme tides at the Bay of Fundy, where the swing between high and low tide is often 50 feet! We couldn't have timed our visit more perfectly, arriving on the eve of the Perigee Moon, when the full moon coincides with the moon's closest point to earth in its orbit. This produces not only an extreme tide, but spectacular moon watching, and we saw it at both the high and the low tides. Wow!
Yet, it was back in the States at Vermont's Walden Pond State Reservation where we found our largest fungal fruiting: a lovely display of suillis and boletes bursting through the duff. Henry David Thoreau would no doubt be taken aback by what his beloved pond looks like today (although a lot of it is preserved in its natural state), but we'd like to think he'd be pleased that those who followed in his footsteps still were interested in the natural bounty to be found there.
How delightful that Walden Pond gifted us with fungi!
Would have made Henry David Thoreau proud!
Upon our return to Oregon late in August, we attended the Oregon Mycological Society's general meeting, which featured a talk by Oregon State Park Ranger Dane Osis. Dane's currently stationed at Fort Stevens State Park near Astoria, and has led wild mushroom hikes and programs at numerous parks on the Oregon coast as far south as the California border. He's also taught mushroom identification classes at Clatsop Community College. In other words, he's a pretty knowledgeable guy about the amazing variety of fungi that thrive on the coast. And, this is what drew us to OMS's Monday night gathering.
Dane began his talk with the basics: first, learn the rules and regulations for where you plan to hunt. For example, it's usually OK to pick mushrooms for personal consumption in State of Oregon parks except in the campgrounds. Then he moved into the subject of where do you look for mushrooms on the coast, and the answer is that it depends on where you are.
On the north coast, look for Sitka spruce in the fog belt in the months of July, August and September. Lobster and short stemmed russula introduce the season along with rainbow chanterelles in shore pines. Expect the best mushrooming in October.
Chicken of the Woods can be gathered on the north coast now; they don't need much rain in order to fruit. Dane cautions to only consume the outer edge (where a knife slides easily) of this fungus. This is the most tender part of Chicken of the Woods and has a tofu-like texture.
The south coast's season starts later, with November and December often being the most bountiful months for the pot collectors. Check out areas where you find Sitka spruce and tan oaks for hedgehogs, which he favors as a good beginning mushroom because they are so easily identified.
Hoping to find Matsutake? Dane's advice is to keep an eye out for the candy cane plant next spring as it is thought to be an indicator of where Matsutake may fruit in the fall.
Dane, thanks for a great presentation and slide show!
Returning from Portland, we noticed that the Coos Bay mushroom buyers are already welcoming pickers. We spotted 3 establishments that were up and running, probably accepting baskets of lobster mushrooms from local pickers. Lobsters are usually the earliest of our south coast fall commercial fungi.
Back home in Port Orford on this 1st day of September, the weather continues to be warm, dry and breezy. Here at our 850' elevation, we're generally far above the fog belt. The July rains may have dampened the soil, but the August sunshine and persistent, warm winds have dried everything out. Walk in our woods, and things are snapping and popping under foot.
But we're not disappointed. We're convinced that past experience is a reliable indicator of what lies ahead and with that history, we're anticipating another fun-filled season of discovery and learning more about our fungal world.
We saw some astonishing things on our trip, not the least of which
was this moose-cow in Benington, VT that Steven couldn't resist petting!