Yesterday she arrived with her granddaughter and a younger boy I am guessing is her grandson. They each had empty baskets as they got out of the car, and all three baskets were full to overflowing with mushrooms when they came back out of the woods. Even at a distance I could see bright yellow and orange mushrooms in the baskets and even a few that seemed to be red.
As they were getting back into their car, the woman waved and called, “Mushrooms for dinner tonight!”
So our Austrian friend has survived another year.
I’m relieved her luck seems to be holding…
BUT…
I’m even more relieved we won’t be sharing that dinner!
More about this woman’s story: Why There Are No Old Bold Mushroom Hunters.
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Doug
This is too funny. We have friends who are very casual about mushrooms and don’t seem to have any knowledge beyond picking what they see. Somehow they have never poisoned themselves either. I’m like you, the more information I try to find out, the less confident I feel that I want to eat any mushroom I pick!
Seth B.
I love mushrooms, but as far as picking my own goes, I think the risk way outweighs the reward. There are too many poisonous mushrooms that look ALMOST like the non-poisonous ones. I just don’t trust myself to be able to tell the difference.
Beth
I too am afraid to begin this adventure without the right guide. I have heard from some experts that a great deal can be determined by not only looking at the mushroom, but the ecology of the surroundings and habitat. I think with enough information, it would be wonderful to learn to forage extensively. There are no guarantees, of course. But then there never are with anything! We survived a couple of million years of evolution foraging though!
Jennifer
I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoy your writing style. It’s like a breath of fresh air and I find this blog to be a source of inspiration and emotional comfort. It’s good to know that there are people like you still “out there”.