Will They Let Us Out to Hunt for Morel Mushrooms?
When Spring comes to the Great Midwest, the people head outside and cure their cabin fever. But in 2020, quarantine measures have turned aside one outing after another: Opening Day at Wrigley Field/Busch Stadium; Golf; Putting the boat in the water; St. Paddy’s Day parades; Easter Egg Hunts; Graduations; on and on. One spring mania that probably can’t be denied by the great pandemic is Morel Mushroom hunting. Ever seen one of these babies:
How about $79.95 for a pound? That’s about 50 tasty, delicious morels. Just give them a light breading, fry in butter, and you have the caviar of the country.
Now, it’s not as easy as taking a walk in the woods and coming home and throwing a bag of perfect Morels like these on the kitchen counter. See, Morels are short season in central Illinois, roughly late April to Mid-May, and they like particular temperatures: 60 during the day, hovering around 40 at night, and 45-50 soil temperature. You need to hunt around the right trees (Elm, Ash, Poplar and Apple) and soil (loamy-moist but not wet). If you’re out after a rain and looking under fallen trees you just might find the motherlode! But watch out for ticks…
Morel spots are closely guarded family secrets. Your spot might be a tiny corner of the deep woods, or even a neighbor’s overgrown vacant lot. Careful about asking your good friend to take you to her/his spot. Expect a raised eyebrow and an uncomfortable moment of silence as your friends mulls your motive. Master Morel mushroomers might just make you wear a blindfold on the drive to their spot!
We happen to have an all time great Morel mushroom hunter in our family—my brother-in-law Jay (he told me so). Here is a picture of Jay in action with his granddaughter Scout:
Two perfect specimens harvested! Notice the mushrooming sticks—a must on any morel outing. Here is PaPa Jay’s report on his outing with Scout:
I had made plans to take my granddaughter Scout on her first morel hunt on Saturday when she visited. I so badly wanted her to have a good memory from her first time out that I went to one of my top spots (don’t ask me where!) to scope it out in advance. As I gently and quietly left the path and tucked into the woods, my senses were on high alert as could smell that there were Schrooms’ in the area. I knelt down, low to the ground, and slowly panned the ground looking for something different than all of the rotten leaves and dead sticks. Back and forth… slowly… quietly… back and forth. Soon, ah yes, the distinct and sure head of two ‘greys’ sticking up from the bases of a small stump. Yes! I carefully walked over, looking around for more as they normally grow in bunches. Yes! Another one and then… three more. Enough scouting, I decided to leave them all for tomorrow and went home. The next day, Scout and I put on our long-sleeve shirts… long pants… hats (you have to watch out for ticks) and grabbed our mushroom sticks to head out to the woods. We went straight to my spot where I had seen them yesterday. I told Scout: “Slow down, get slow, look around and tell me what you see.”. She did and said, “I don’t see anything PaPa”. I told her: “Look again… what do you see?”. Again, she said… nothing. That’s the thing about morels… you have to “get your eyes going” before you can see them as they blend into the forest floor almost undetected. “Scout, look carefully over there. Get low to the ground. What do you see?”. Finally, excitedly, she almost screamed: “PaPa, over there… look… is that a mushroom?”. “Yes, it is Scout, good job! Look around… what else do you see?”. Over the next 30 minutes she found all of the morels that I had seen the day before plus more! It was an unbelievably great day of bonding between Scout and her PaPa. That’s how mushrooming is; out in God’s marvelous creation… quiet… still… enjoying every moment of it and hoping that you never run into another hunter in your prized spot! The time has almost come, I have started having dreams of the motherload, covid-19 will not prevail.
PaPa Jay
UPDATE: Master Morel Mushroom hunter hits the jackpot in 2020!
Look what my bro-in-law Jay and his Daughter Bekah found (just don’t ask them for their spot)!
Can’t wait for our tradition of enjoying the harvest with a glass of Provence Rose over the 4th of July!
Here’s to a bountiful harvest in 2020 for all you mushroomers!