Spring just doesn’t seem to be complete unless I have at least one opportunity to feast on morels. Yesterday evening I decided to take a quick walk in the woods to try my luck. After only about 10 minutes of walking, I stumbled across a dying American elm with about 3o beautiful morels right at the base of the tree. I searched for another hour or so and only found 2 dried up half-free morels (snake heads), but they were past their prime. In anticipation of a scrumptious meal, I headed for home. On my return journey I noticed a large dead American elm and decided to check it out. More morels! William & Barb joined in the action, and in total we bagged just under 90 morels.
Remember that it is turkey season so it is a good idea to hunt morels after legal hunting hours. Shooting hours are from ½ before to noon until May 5th (after the May 5th hours end at sunset). Also many mushrooms are poisonous so if you are an inexperienced mushroom hunter, do your homework. Make sure you are only collecting morels that are safe to eat.
For more information check out OSU Extension’s new publication: Mushrooms and Macrofungi of Ohio and the Midwestern States: A Resource handbook. Bulletin 942.
