Mushrooms on my mind

The seasons are changing here...there's a nip in the air in the wee hours of the morning. I've recently joined the NY Mycological Society and am back in mushroom heaven. Recently R and I went to NJ in search of mushrooms, namely the maitake, or hen of the woods mushroom. I found a big one, and at Monday's forager's meeting, a very nice woman brought big chunks of one she had harvested in Pennsylvania.

Most days whenever I'm walking, I have my eyes focused downward, and then once in a walk, high up. I'm hunting for mushrooms. I'm wild about them actually. Wouldn't you be? In these modern times when we more often than not source our food from the supermarket, it's nice to be able to find your food right at the source.

Mind you, I stay clear of eating mushrooms that I find right next to walking paths or on side walks. And of course, before I eat, I make sure to find a few specimens to bring to my local mushroom experts for identification and confirmation. And I do a spore print!

I've got mushroom mania...the colors, the smells, the patterns. I met an artist recently who does spore print art...now how cool is that?

A slideshow of some mushrooms I've found in NYC and NJ