Hunting & Gathering

This weekend I had the opportunity to finally get out there & go mushroom hunting. It was simply amazing. Some girlfriends & I went up around this place (remember?) with a specific mission to find chanterelle mushrooms. Boy, did we hit the motherload.

Beyond the actual hunting though, taking a minute to pay attention to the ground was the best part of my day. Usually on hikes I am so focused on "getting there" - to the top, to the campsite, to whatever the goal might be - that I don't take the time to stare at the ground below. I have never studied the variety of mushrooms like I did on Saturday...where they grow, how they grow, that some have pores rather than gills. It was fascinating.

I wish we had taken more photos of the dinner we made from our find (it was delicious), but I think we were too excited about eating to take any photos.

Lovely.

Heading up & up.

Amazing.

Wild strawberries discovered along the way.

Gnome home.

The steeze.

The dogs were as excited as I was about our finds. Yum!

All photos by the talented Brianne Hovey.