I found a morel — as in one — the other day.
I moseyed over several places where I thought the tasty morsels might have emerged.
I didn’t give up, fortitude being a necessity for anyone so smitten. The next day a long walk in another area failed to produce, although I did come home with four ticks.
You never can be sure how long the wild mushrooms will be about, or where they will be. If they are numerous in one place one year, there may not be any a year later. I suppose it has to do with rainfall, ground cover or temperature, but mainly whether fate wants to smile or frown.
Some folks traipse along railroad rights of way, and report coming up with nice harvests. I tried that and all I got was a couple of bruised knees when ballast gave way as I started down the side of the rail bed. Even face-first on the ground I didn’t spy any of the edibles.
Where I did find meager success was in a bed of plants near an old house. I spotted the morel from a distance — its ridged Christmas tree appearance a dead giveaway.
Some old-timers claim morels show up when oak leaves are about the size of a mouse’s ear. Others say watch for snakes. When they slither from hibernation, it means ground temperature is warm enough for morels to grow.
I ran onto a couple of black snakes, each about four feet long, a few days before my morel quest, and saw a bull snake that someone needlessly had squashed on a gravel road.
(Black and bull snakes dine often on mice and rats and other things that have, to my way of thinking, no compelling reason to be around. Leave snakes be.)
Usually I wait for a night with temps in the 50s and humidity near the top of the scale.
My last journey was through some fairly thick woods. I found a load of fungi, but nothing I was comfortable plucking.
If you look in a place where morels have been found in the past and come home with an empty bag, don’t hesitate to visit again. There’s a reason for the old saying that something “popped up like mushrooms in the middle of the night.”
A FINAL WORD: If you do find some, wash them — little black bugs often are found in the crevices (which could add to protein value) — powder with flour and let them sizzle a few minutes in melted butter. Then, as you salivate, plop one in your mouth, chew long and slow to extract all the flavor and enjoy.
