Mushroomapalooza and More!

 The past couple months have been something like a "super bloom" here in the forest.  Last year, mushrooms like chanterelles were difficult to find.  This year all kinds of mushrooms have erupted, including a new one for us that is now a favorite.  Our friends Bob and Mary from Salem spent a couple days with us for some coastal fun.  Oh, and November had 22.47" of rain which kept the weather mild and the water rushing.  

"Our" waterfalls

"Our" Big Leaf Maple

Our little network of neighbors determined that this is a Mock Matsutake.  Although it is supposedly edible we didn't try this one.  We like to be 100% sure.

We have a patch of Amanita muscarias (Fly Agaric) that come up each year.  We liken them to pizzas, but eating them could be fatal.

Gail made this spore print of an Amanita muscaria by placing the mushroom cap on paper with black charcoal rubbed on it, putting a bowl over it, and then waiting about 24 hours.  The spores are white and they fall in the pattern of the gills that hold them.  The color of the spores can be a key identifier.

Another spore print showing yellow spores from an unidentified mushroom.

Bob and Mary came over from Salem for a couple days.  We met them for lunch at Newport's new restaurant, A Taste of India.  From there, we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium which had a new jellyfish exhibit.

Pacific Sea Nettles

Spotted Lagoon Jellyfish

Rockfish

The next morning we took Bob and Mary up the hill for some chanterelle picking.  They will be going to Vietnam in January.  

Gail and I started this hike with the hopes of finding a Cauliflower Mushroom.   A neighbor had found one in the general direction of this area.  They are scarce but are sought after for being edible, tasty, and easy to identify.  I spotted this one next to an old stump.

Cauliflower Mushrooms look a lot like egg noodles.

I sauteed a couple batches.  They cook down a lot and taste somewhat like bacon.

The next day we went to a different area that I thought might be the right habitat.  Gail found these two, again, next to a stump.  We cooked these up yesterday.  They go good as a garnish or appetizer.

We have been exploring a lot off trail, lately.  It is fun to be surprised by little discoveries and to be away from news and digital devices, not to mention getting exercise.

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