Five Rivers

We found some really interesting stuff today, lots of mushrooms, mostly.

It was a bit chilly out, but once we got moving, it seems the chill left the air.  First guy we stumbled across was an elegant polypore (Polyporus Elegans), beautiful wine coloring to the top, quite large.  These mushrooms are reportedly edible, though I haven't tried.  The young ones are supposed to be better as they become far too tough to be enjoyable as they get this large.  They smell delightful though and maybe I will be adventurous enough to try one some time. 

We cruised a long for a while and found more than a few puffballs later on.  These little guys are a lot of fun to squeeze & make the spores come out.  It wafts on the air like little smoke clouds.  Very neat to see this many all clumped together!

After that, we stumbled across what I thought from my field guide & mushroom ID app was the Grey Knight's Cap, (tricholoma terreum) which, it turns out, is ONLY found in Europe, so now, I am settling on "Mouse Ears" tricholoma myomyces which it seems is edible.  I tasted a small chunk tonight, spit it out, and haven't had ANY strange sensations in my mouth at all. Time to cook some!

A little too old!

Just right, but a little high!

 The mushrooms I was hoping to find the most were Elm Oysters (hypsizygus ulmarius).  I did indeed find some, but they were up REALLY high and looked to be a bit dried out.  Here is one pic from today & a couple from last weekend.

The top looks cracked & dry.  This was perfect though.

 Not quite a mushroom, but these sumac flowers are awesome!  You can crush & soak the flowers, the strain & you are left with a tart red ALMOST pink lemonade like drink that you can sweeten with white sugar & add some mint to make a great, refreshing drink!

This flower can also be dried to use later and it retains all it's awesomosity!

This little guy is giving me some guff.  These both appear to be the same mushroom, just one is later in life.  I am not sure though because they have so many similarities & differences.  I am leaning towards "gold stalk bolete" (boletus ornatipes), but I am probably totally wrong.  It's hard when mushrooming to stay objective and not just make believe that a mushroom fits your taxonomy guide because you are eager to see what it tastes like!

Don't know much about this guy, he sure was interesting to look at thought!

This little guy sure was interesting, haven't figured out which family he belongs to yet, as of now...just an orphan!  Hopefully I will get a good spore print by the time I get home, but I don't think the caps were mature enough to spore yet.

THE STAR OF THE SHOW!

Coprinus Comitus, the Shaggy Mane!

These guys are abundant, delicious, and you gotta be quick!  They go from tiny button to inky mess in a matter of days and you can miss your chance to eat something wonderful.  Sauteed in butter or olive oil, these babies are great with steak, pasta, made into a gravy, soups, they are just plain wonderful.  NOTHING looks like them, you can't mistake a shaggy mane!  Avoid alcohol for a bit though, as these and their cousin, the alcohol inky cap (Coprinopsis Atramentaria) can combine with alcohol and create quite a mess of your blood pressure & cause your limbs to tingle & heart palpitations.  Please just don't do it!

Then we ran across a herd of Late Fall Oysters(Pleurotis Serotinus) which is edible, but mostly flavorless until they get like me, old & bitter.  They are a tough mushroom that requires quite a bit of cooking, so I would recommend them in a stew or soup where they can just simmer away for an hour or more.  These grow on hardwood, are tan/yellow/green with beautiful gills under neath and usually cluster, though you can find a loner once in a while.  I would recommend grabbing a few & giving them a try!

Lastly, we ran across some Lamb's Ear.  This is a great plant to know because the large, soft leaves can be used as a bandage and the plant itself can help slow bleeding and keep the wound clean.

They are just fun to touch also!

As I get better at this stuff, you can expect my layout/photos to improve.  Bear with me, I will get it all figured out soon as I can!  Thanks for reading, hopefully i can get out again soon and get more photos for you!

It begins...

Well, I have no idea what I am doing, why I am doing this, or what I will be able to post, or how often, but I wanted to start something to document my treasures dug up while looking through the wilderness around Albany.

Today's post, the one you are reading now, is just a trial run.  It's just to get started.  Expect something bigger & better tomorrow evening.  The target?  Five Rivers in Delmar. 

http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/1835.html

Last weekend, we found some great stuff out there.  Hopefully tomorrow brings more exciting finds!