It might seem small, but when Matt and I first got together, I relished the discovery that we travel through the forest at the same pace... I'd never had a boyfriend who wanted to spend hours poking around in the woods, just like me.
Over the past two summers Matt has gotten really into mushroom hunting. I held back at first, on account of I didn't want to eat a mushroom and die a horrible death. But Matt's enthusiasm, along with the entertainingly written ID tome he's been reading (David Arora's Mushrooms Demystified) drew me in. Mushrooms still make me nervous, but I understand these points: with a little effort, many of the choicest edibles can be keyed out and positively identified, and there's no reason to eat something you aren't absolutely certain about - you can always choose to simply admire it for its lovely wildness instead.
Looking for mushrooms takes time... It takes a readjustment of vision and mind. The ground is a whole other world, and while I've always been a scrambler, an inspector, a sifter... I've never quite known the ground like this before. I feel like I am as close to being a moss-dwelling beetle as I ever will be.
So this summer, Matt and I have not paddled on the river once, or gone on a long, strenuous hike. Every day off, we've just taken a slow walk into the woods. We've found a lot of mushrooms, and other things. It's not a recognized or respected skill, this thing we do - looking, smelling, occasionally finding a delicacy on the ground... But I think just being in the woods - in a whole-body-and-mind way - is probably the thing we are best at, of all the things we do, and that feels very gratifying.
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| Black trumpet (Craterellus cornucopioides) |
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| Craterellus ignicolor |
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| A mixed bag of Craterellus cornucopioides and C. ignicolor |
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| A type of milk cap, Lactarius hygrophoroides |
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| Hedgehog, Hydnum repandum |
3 comments:
These are exactly the four mushrooms I found Monday morning. I'd walk with you anytime!
Many mushrooms here in Vermont, too. It is a gift that you are truly appreciative of; time and ability to BE in the woods during what must be a very good mushroom year.
We're well past mushroom season here, but a couple of years ago I developed the mushroom hunting bug. The Black Trumpets and Golden Chanterelles here are the only ones I'd venture to eat. I'm mostly still a "admire it for its lovely wildness instead" type, preferring to take photographs. Even with Arora's book, I'm not brave enough to venture much further on the edible mushroom front, but I always find them so fascinating.
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