Morel hunting

[grogimus]

Had a couple hours to spend collecting ticks today and got some pictures. What you will not find in this morel titled post are any morels, I struck out. Good times regardless.

He's no truffle pig but Loki had a blast looking for other things, mostly fun places to pee on.

Just took the 5.1, some water, and the phone. I thought this might scare some morels out of hiding, no such luck.

Note to self, don't camp here.

Scared some ducks off before I could get a pic, I'm not even sure if they go south for the winter, they're usually somewhere right around this spot.

You could hop over this stream not too long ago but the county put some watersheds in downstream.

My sister and I bought dad a kayak last week, he took it down this little waterway yesterday and ran into quite a bit of this.

Usually when it's morel season you have to spot them against dried leaves. This year and last year you pretty much have to know the spots to look because of all the foliage cover from the early warm weather.

Erosion is terrible for the adjoining farm ground but it makes for some neat scenery.

Not so neat looking erosion. Usually the bottom of these little ditches are good spots, the leaf litter piles up and the morels seem to like that.

Random just because pic.

I've been wondering what the wood in this hackberry burl looks like for a long time.

Well, didn't want to leave completely empty handed and mom can always use a new 'rooster-be-good' stick. I was going to cross baton but the 5.1 sailed through in a couple chops. Hophornbeam I believe.

Well, I had fun but sure didn't see any of those delicious little brain looking fungus. If you've managed to haul some out post up some pictures for me to be jealous and cry over!

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[grogimus]

Oh, forgot about another pic. The 'wait a minute' vines seem like they're going to be especially obnoxious this year. Seems that it's usually close to Memorial Day before they start getting this bad.

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[Ifellonscissors]

Wow! That's really pretty! I could definitely see spending time there. Great name for your dog, too!

 

[Silver Needle]

Thanks for taking the time to take us along. Love the humorous commentary, love the pics!

 

[donscpoo]

Awesome pictures and story! Thanks for sharing and keep them coming!



Don

 

[Hard Knocks]

Great pictures, those hackberry burls are crazy! I haven't stumbled on any morels yet this spring either.

 

[Standard78]

It looks like you got a ton of rain and a really early spring out there.

 

[hunterjrg]

Cool adventure. I wish I knew more about morel hunting. I have land in an area supposed to be abundant with them.

 

[FullMetalJackass]

I love morel and mushroom hunting! It's an activity I impatiently wait for every year, even if there is not that much stuff up there in northern Alberta.
Morels like to grow on clean areas I've noticed, without brush around them.
Here is a pic from last year, cellphone is an Iphone 4 or 5.

between trees.

I usually carry a machete to clear the way, a big fixed non serrated blade (Dimona or M9) to dig them out, a boomstick in case of a bruin/moose and my dogs for threat detection. And this year I'll use my donkey with bins instead of my quad, as he is able to navigate easily through trees

 

[zakjak221]

Nice pics fella's.
I haven't been in a while but really enjoy em.

 

[SURVIVE! Ellie]

Had a couple hours to spend collecting ticks today and got some pictures. What you will not find in this morel titled post are any morels, I struck out. Good times regardless.

We started to go check a spot that had morels last year but only got a few steps up the trail before finding several ticks on our legs. Since it was just going to be a casual walk we casually decided to turn around. It seems like they are exceptionally bad this year, likely due to the early warmth.

 

[grogimus]

I love morel and mushroom hunting! It's an activity I impatiently wait for every year, even if there is not that much stuff up there in northern Alberta.
Morels like to grow on clean areas I've noticed, without brush around them.
Here is a pic from last year, cellphone is an Iphone 4 or 5.

between trees.

I usually carry a machete to clear the way, a big fixed non serrated blade (Dimona or M9) to dig them out, a boomstick in case of a bruin/moose and my dogs for threat detection. And this year I'll use my donkey with bins instead of my quad, as he is able to navigate easily through trees

I appreciate all the responses, my internet is down and I don't want to load up a thread with a bunch of single response posts. FMJ's post just sprained my brain though, I can't imagine finding enough morels that I needed a 4 wheeler or donkey to haul them out. I've always wanted to find enough to try dehydrating them for later in the year but they never last long enough.

I went out again today to a different place, strike 2. This is a little state park, there aren't many places like this around here with older growth trees that's deep enough to keep the undergrowth subdued.

These are not the droids you're looking for.

These droids aka fungus suck too! Destroy them 5.1!

I wanted to change things up a bit. Yesterday I burned the ticks till they popped. Today I dumped them in a Solo cup full of bleach. Man those things are like little Sherman tanks.

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[grogimus]

I've been working on this dude for a while, I think it'd be hilarious to do a series with him. Planning on using this for leather sheath carvings.

I need a good name for him. Lord Ickarus the Serious Morel?

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[grogimus]

We started to go check a spot that had morels last year but only got a few steps up the trail before finding several ticks on our legs. Since it was just going to be a casual walk we casually decided to turn around. It seems like they are exceptionally bad this year, likely due to the early warmth.

I think you're exactly right about the early warmth. Friggin arachnids!

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[Hard Knocks]

I appreciate all the responses, my internet is down and I don't want to load up a thread with a bunch of single response posts. FMJ's post just sprained my brain though, I can't imagine finding enough morels that I needed a 4 wheeler or donkey to haul them out. I've always wanted to find enough to try dehydrating them for later in the year but they never last long enough.

I picked buckets of them when I was in high school. Maybe not enough to load up a donkey but gallons of them in Montana. I could make at least 50 bucks after school at night. If I could hunt them during the summer, I would go all day and sometimes fill a 5 gallon bucket. We had a lot of fires up there, and wherever there was a burn it would be loaded up with morels the next year. It got so bad that when I would close my eyes at night, all I could see was morel mushrooms! Ya, I had to find something else to do for awhile.

 

[Hard Knocks]

I've been working on this dude for a while, I think it'd be hilarious to do a series with him. Planning on using this for leather sheath carvings.

I need a good name for him. Lord Ickarus the Serious Morel?

Mor El Diablo?

 

[SURVIVE! Ellie]

I wanted to change things up a bit. Yesterday I burned the ticks till they popped. Today I dumped them in a Solo cup full of bleach. Man those things are like little Sherman tanks.

Sherman tanks is a good analogy. Guy gets a lot of satisfaction from cutting off their heads. I just keep a smooth rock by the sink to crush them.

 

[AmericanAsApple3.14]

Sherman tanks is a good analogy. Guy gets a lot of satisfaction from cutting off their heads. I just keep a smooth rock by the sink to crush them.

They're an issue down here in NE FL but doesn't sound like it's as bad as you guys have it. you'd think the winters would take care of them? Why are they such an issue up north?

 

[hunterjrg]

Sherman tanks is a good analogy. Guy gets a lot of satisfaction from cutting off their heads. I just keep a smooth rock by the sink to crush them.

I do the same thing! My kids bring me the ticks they find on them so I can cut off the head too.

There's a tick - out comes the knife!😀

 

[B34NS]

I appreciate all the responses, my internet is down and I don't want to load up a thread with a bunch of single response posts. FMJ's post just sprained my brain though, I can't imagine finding enough morels that I needed a 4 wheeler or donkey to haul them out. I've always wanted to find enough to try dehydrating them for later in the year but they never last long enough.

Oh yea, in our rainy years out here we would have to load them up in 50 gallon garbage bags there were so many. Drought and fires have made them much harder to find an abundance of the last couple years though. Dehydrating is the way to go too. Great for soups, sauces, stocks and for stuffing.