I love Sunday afternoons. The woods call me out for long hikes like a mother calling her child home. I get my wool socks, boots and woods gear together and sometimes have to talk myself out of staying after dark. My 14 year old son, the "Old Soul" child of mine, tells me there's no way he's letting me go out alone. He grabs his pocket knives, lighter, canteen, and machete and we head out.
"What are you on the hunt for today Mom"? This kid KNOWS me Lol. I've had it in my head for some time now that somewhere on our property there just has to be a mushroom called Chicken of the Woods, Laetiporus sulphureus.
http://themushroomforager.com/category/foraging-philosophy/
It is a sulphur shelf variety so there is no stem or branch holding a cap. It grows in layers and tastes like chicken! I am not a wild mushroom expert by any means, but as a prepper and survivalist this is something I am learning. Many experts agree that this is a great mushroom to begin foraging because there are few to no toxic look-alikes (https://wildfoodism.com/2014/10/07/5-easy-to-identify-edible-mushrooms-for-the-beginning-mushroom-hunter/).
So we set out, keeping in mind it's been a hot day in the 90s and the rattlesnakes, gators, and mosquitos are just waiting for us! The very first thing we find is signs of the giant hog that's been rooting in one of our ponds. He's made a little mini-pond by using his nose as a shovel to dig in a large circle for roots, snails, and frogs. Then it rained this afternoon and filled his mini-pond with water:
We've seen this big boy and he's over 400 lbs! The biggest pig I've ever raised was 325 and she was enormous. A tusked hog this size is dangerous, but he keeps to himself so live and let live.
We walked around another hour and a half. The sun was slung low and I started to think twice about getting chewed up by skeeters. My son, who insists in wearing flip flops on our hikes (eye roll), felt we should stay away from the pines. You really don't want to eat a mushroom that's been growing on inedible wood or sap. So off to the oaks we went. And there it was.....
The heavens parted and a lone ray of light glittered on this lone tree! Ok, that part didn't happen, but that's how happy I was! Again, this is not a positive I.D. since I am not an expert, but we will be allowing this youngster to grow and flourish until I can get someone to certify it. Here are acouple more angles:
After our amazing SHTF/survival find, we ate our sandwiches and sweet cherries, drank our lemonade, and watched the sunset. Even if I hadn't found my foraging target, I'm still one of the luckiest mamas ever❤
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