Other than for a 30-second downpour yesterday, this central part of California continues a dry spell that is getting scary. In my main mushroom grove yesterday (Oaks, Bays, Hazelnuts, Redwoods), the leaves were damp. but when you scratched down to the soil, it was dry. Mushrooms are deep down, in hiding. On 2 of my recent forays I was lucky to find one lonely Chantrelle each time. There aren’t even the usual amanita phalloides (death caps) sprouting mernacingly in the Oak leaves. But even if there are no mushrooms, I love being in the woods. I’ve learned to follow faint animal trails. Sometimes when there’s no obvious route, I put myself in the mind of a coyote, or deer, and the way appears. I’m becoming a mushroom hunter, and it is sharpening my awareness of rain and wind and moisture content of soil.
Mushroom Hunting In a Dry Year
By Lloyd Kahn
on January 26, 2009
