[Evan]

We had another inch or two of steady rain last night. I will be visiting my friend Fri who just had back surgery, then I want to hit the trumpet spot on Sat.

[Evan]

We went to our trumpet spot today before I went to see my friend. There were no trumpets, or other choice edibles, despite the rain and hot weather. We saw one red russula, and a few various amanitas. The excitement came when Harmony and I walked up the trail to check a trumpet patch and back tracked about 30 ft to find a copperhead on the trail. Apparently, we passed it on the way up the trail and, luckily, it was very passive. I saw it on the way back, and, it was uncomfortably close, about two feet away from me when I saw it. Here's a smiley from Harmony and some pics. Why are the beautiful serpents the dangerous ones?

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[Ducks n' Morels]

Yikes, I'm glad you guys avoided confrontation w/ that bad boy! It's easy to see why they are called Copperheads, what a pretty snake. I don't know about out E, but around these parts they are pretty rare. I've never run into any Timber Rattlers or Copperheads in my time in the woods and fields, luckily. I'm always sure to keep an eye out though, and always have my trusty Sassafras stick w/ me just in case. Nice pics, a walk through the woods is never uneventful, even if you aren't finding any shrooms!

[zora]

Beautiful snake. I ran into a huge timbler rattler up at big flats one time. I was on the horse. Tried to get him to move a little faster and he would not take one step faster. Maybe he knew that would only make things worse. I don't have any poisonous snakes up on top of this mountain. Too long a winter I guess.

[Roosevelt]

Nice pics Evan and a very pretty snake too. If I ever went hunting in a place that had poisonous snakes I'd probably be dead in a day. When I lived in KY the instinct to look before you leap was high, but after living up here I wouldn't even think to look.

[Dave W]

Wow, that Copperhead looks to be poised for action!

Last year I ran across a Hognose snake. Stepped about two feet from where it lay on the trail. I jumped back so suddenly that I fell over... and then the snake raised it's head and flattened its neck like a Cobra. Made a sorta hissing sound... all very scary. I later read up on this type only to find out that the Hognose is the wimp of the snake world. The hissing and posturing is just a lot of bluster. They run scared from just about anything.

Ran across a big rattler a couple years back; on the Loyalsock Trail. Had to bushwhack around it as it refused to move off the trail. Each time we tried to approach where it was, it sounded the alarm.

[Evan]

Actually, I think he had his head up to keep an eye on us. He didn't even strike at the stick when I moved him for a better look. My wife, of course, wasn't very happy about that. I made sure Harmony got a good look from a safe distance. I want her to know what they look like and to stay away if she sees one. Living where we do now, there is a possibility of finding one near the house eventually.

[Dave W]

That's a good point Evan. We got a snake in our basement last fall. It stayed down ther long enough to shed it's skin (about a day)... found the shedded skin down there. Then didn't see the snake again until about a month ago. Chased it up into the wooded area on our property.

Led a mushroom walk for the local Sierra Club today. A few interesting things were found... Inocybes, Entolomas, couple of Tylopilus, and a Suillus pictus. But the small chanterelle patch in this area had a couple dozen nice-sized ones. So 5 or 6 different people went home with a few chants to add into the scrambled eggs tomorrow.

[zora]

Dave when is your peak chanterelle season out there? Just curious. While I did find some yesterday, about a pound and a half (weighed them just for you Mary), my main season has in the past been August 1. So I am wondering if with the early heat they are coming on sooner. My little group of hedgehogs were right on time but a little small due to the lack of rain so I left them. I want to see what the do in the next couple of days. I hope they don't die before I get back from Baltimore.







Berkeley's polypore




Clavaria fusifurmis - Spindle-shaped Yellow Coral - It says these are edible, anyone ever try them?

[jginbc]

Ducks n said:

Yikes, I'm glad you guys avoided confrontation w/ that bad boy! It's easy to see why they are called Copperheads, what a pretty snake. I don't know about out E, but around these parts they are pretty rare. I've never run into any Timber Rattlers or Copperheads in my time in the woods and fields, luckily. I'm always sure to keep an eye out though, and always have my trusty Sassafras stick w/ me just in case. Nice pics, a walk through the woods is never uneventful, even if you aren't finding any shrooms!

You have to look in the right places. I remember as a kid turning over rocks at our school picnics in the SE suburbs of St. Louis to find lots of small copperheads. Never saw any rattlers close up in Missouri, just a few on hot roads during the summer.

[Dave W]

Nice Berkeley's zora. About 20 years ago I actually tried eating some very young material from along the margins and found it quite good!

My experience is this. Smooth chants tend to show up a little later than the gilled ones (cibarius types). But the smooths sometimes continue to fruit for extended periods, as long as the weather stays hot and wet. Last year we started getting smooths in mid july, but they kept coming through most of August. This year... not enough rain yet. Got some gilled ones though... early on before the hot/dry spell, and now they're coming on again in some spots that have recieved enough rainfall.

Anyone who wants to see some of the things we found on the Seven Tubs Mushroom Walk, use the link below
http://www.mushroomh...?showtopic=1958

[Dave W]

Took a 7.5 mile hike through the Rickett's Glen Falls Trail on Sunday. There were some nive things starting up. Checked a good chantie spot 10 miles away, as the crow flies... nada. Comes with the territory when summer showers hit or miss your spots.

Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, the old-school "False Chanterelle." I think Jack 'o Lantern is easier to mistake for chanties. These particular ones lacked the orange/yellow tones on the cap surfaces. So maybe they are some variant? Listed under Clitocybe in the older manuals.



Spathularia velutipes. These Fairy Fans were just beginning to emerge from an old decayed stump.


Pluteus species. Probably P. cervinus.



Oyster Mushrooms.... from the Pleurotus ostreatus complex... I think! Tough to rule out Pleurocybella porrigens for these pale somewhat thin-fleshed ones. I had a bunch of Tex-Mex style food left over in the fridge... grilled chipotle chicken, tomatillio salsa, mango salsa, guacamole. So I sauteed these with onion, and topped with some pepper-jack to finish... as another side dish. Excellent!

[zora]

I found these yesterday. Can someone tell me when to harvest and how to prepare them?

[Feral Boy]

zora, on 23 July 2010 - 10:05 AM, said:

I found these yesterday. Can someone tell me when to harvest and how to prepare them?
100_2637b.jpg

Zora,

Drop a note to ganoderma

He put up a tutorial about how to make G. lucidum tea on the site (with pictures),
but I can't find it through SEARCH

[Ganoderma]

Re: here is a pictoral for brewing polypore tea: http://www.mushroomh...?showtopic=1107

I recommend filtering tea with cotton-balls, and no contact with metal. A new pictoral using Reishi material is in the works.

Zora, those are perfect time for harvesting! I tend to leave them growing if i notice any sign of bugs burrowing into them.