Distracted Morel Mushroom Hunting

A few weeks ago I went Morel mushroom hunting at the farm on a piece of land that had been unexplored by me. To my surprise there was an abandoned farm which always fascinates me. It is shrouded with mystery of who abandoned it, why and what happened to the people that lived there.

Sweet William Wildflowers

It was a beautiful spring day and perfect for mushroom hunting but I found myself distracted by the abandoned farm and in awe of how the woods was taking over the property as if some day it would just become one with the woods and completely disappear. I finally succumbed to my curiosity and abandoned the hunt and got immersed in the mystery.

At first I noticed the wildflowers that had encroached upon what would have been the homestead's yard. Sweet William Wildflowers and





Maypoles (at least that is what my Dad called them). If they aren't Maypoles then I have no clue what they are but I know they are pretty. He always told me that whenever you see these wildflowers then you know the environment is ripe for finding mushrooms. However, no mushrooms on the day I was exploring.

These wildflowers were intermingled with what must have been a beautiful yard that included Irises and gorgeous ferns gone wild and overgrown.

Outhouse

Obviously at some point in time the house did not include an indoor bathroom.

It was also obvious that in it's day it was a working farm with several barns filled with very old machinery and equipment




And at one time they had a lot of horses. One whole barn was full of very old horse bridles, collars, harnesses, and saddles. I wanted to explore this barn more thoroughly but there was a very large deep hole that had been dug into the dirt floor and I was pretty sure a fairly large undesirable animal was more than likely living in that hole.

As always, another beautiful day in the country filled with mystery, stunning beauty and this time a sense of forlornness of things pas, lost and untold stories..

I didn't find any mushrooms that day nor any other day which was a total disappointment. To my delight and great fortune I received bags of mushrooms from friends so in the end I had my Morel Mushroom fix for the season although I could eat them 365. I did, however, have enough to freeze so when it is a cold and grey wintry day I will fry up some mushrooms which I know will brighten my day and dream of my next mushroom hunting adventure.

Authored by +Terri Henkels

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