On Saturday two weeks ago I went for a short stroll into the forest. It was already pretty late, well past 16 PM, but the weather was nice and I thought I'll at least take some pictures.
Just in case I took a shopping bag with a metal bowl to stiffen the bottom, so if I were to find some mushrooms I'd have a way to carry them, but in the same time such contraption is compact enough to keep in backpack when empty.
I didn't even reach the forest. The way I took leads through untended fields filled with tall grass and slowly claimed by blackthorns and hawthorns. Among the bushes I found some parasol mushrooms. And then some more. And more. The bag filled quickly, there was no point in going forward, so I turned around, marched back to the car, left the bag of mushrooms there, took fresh bag with another bowl and started my walk again. I was so absorbed by the loot that I only took some photos of a dung beetle helping itself to some older parasol mushroom.
The first place I visited is known for saffron milk caps, but there was none. But soon after I found some slippery jacks in the middle of the road and shortly after some red-capped scaber stalks that just started to grow (similar to saffron milk caps there is actually couple species that look so similar that only specialists care to differentiate them - they are all just red-caps to me). In area usually full of warted puffballs and corals I found those beauties.
They wandered into bad neighborhood and had to be removed for their own good.
The puffballs where totally absent. Not that I'd complain. I know all puffballs that can be found in Poland are edible (when white inside) but I never tried. The only one poisonous is actually not a puffball, but earth ball, and only somewhat similar in shape. There were some corals, but nowhere near what is usually present there.
I love how they look like Hattifatteners, trying to reach for the sky with their tiny hands.
Here is some more fungi I've found while walking further, passing through place of red-caps (none found there but I picked up some small ones in other places, along with couple slippery jacks and one more porcini).
Turkey tail looks the best when it forms such rose.
Large colonies like that are everywhere.
That one was one of the largest red-caps I picked up that day.
I reached furthest point I wanted and started to go back, of course not the same way. The whole walk was to be a large circle somewhat touching all the best mushroom places I know there. I didn't expect what was coming next though.
There are 7 parasols on that picture, I picked 12 in that place alone.
Just like before, wherever I went I was coming across packs of parasols (with odd red-cap here and there). The bag filled in no time. I had to decide to turn towards fields and escape the forest quickly, otherwise I'd feel tempted to start cramming the overflowing mushrooms into backpack where they would inevitably get crumbled and wasted.
Once I reached the village, I met my aunt. I wanted to brag about the results of the hunt, but she was like "yeah, they are everywhere, don't eat too many or you'll get sick" and "why didn't you come to my place for slippery jacks" (right, like I love the work it takes to clean them after picking). :o)
I was not in the mood to handle the aftermath myself, so I drove to my parents instead. Four hungry adults had their fill of tasty parasols from the pan on Saturday and Sunday and twice as many mushrooms went to drying. By the way, it is funny how there were two full bags of them, but after they were dried one jar was enough to fit them all.
In the end I didn't escape mushroom cleaning as all other than parasols were left for me to handle (and eat). I'm still eating them actually - after I've cooked them with some onions and garlic I've frozen half and used other half in hunter's stew that lasted me for three days. Now I'm using the frozen portion.
Here I was about to continue with the hunt from last Saturday, but it is almost end of Friday so I have to leave it for next week. Tomorrow, assuming it won't be raining, I'm going for the third time - mushroom hunting is a good workout :o)