Mushroom Hunting

It’s my favorite time of year, mushroom season! My brain dances with hope as every warm and sunny moment I obsess over finding the mother lode. This year has been especially rainy and cool and filled with promise. I rub my hands together in anticipation but the real work of mushroom hunting is filled with endless moments of fruitless searching.

Most years I spend hours hiking through the woods only to find a handful of little gray mushrooms. But there is something about searching that fills my heart with joy, until it doesn’t, and I give up for the year.

Because hiking for hours and days through the woods can be somewhat frustrating I try to focus on the wonderful things I do find. That way I don’t feel like I’ve lost hours of my life crunching through dead leaves. This year is no different. The first thing I found was a $20 bill. I didn’t even squander it. I used it to buy chicken to feed my family. What a blessing! We also found a box turtle. I usually see lots of these in the spring. They are one of my favorite things to find in the woods, all covered with mud and hungry from hibernation.

I took Friday off work to spend my hours hiking with my favorite son(I’m joking, I don’t really have a favorite-and if I did it wouldn’t be him, but if I pretend he’s my favorite then he will feel special and maybe won’t have mommy issues later in life). That trip netted 2 morels. 2. If that wasn’t depressing enough we found a deer skeleton. My favorite son insisted on handling the head and waving the spine around. I figured it was important to let him do this. You see, my favorite son loves dead things and Halloween and skeletons. It just didn’t seem right NOT to let him handle it. So, in case you were keeping track, he won’t have mommy issues, he’ll just be a serial killer.

Today was warm and sunny so I made another impromptu trip to the park to hunt. We found a very snappy garter snake who promptly pooped on me. Everyone got a good laugh out of that. We also found a tree frog.

What joy! But my very favoritest thing about mushroom hunting is all the beautiful green things that sprout from the forest floor. If winter is death, Spring is new life. Jack-in-the-pulpit, Dutchman’s breeches, Larkspur, Dogtooth Lilies and purple Phlox are everywhere. Sleepy bees drip from these flowers. Their soft fuzzy bodies buzz with energy as they sip nectar from each stem. It seems that they are just as hungry for warm days as I am. Everything glistens with health. The sky is deep blue and I want to roll in the new, soft green grass like my favorite son, who knows nothing of chiggers, ticks and itchy grass. He sees only a carpet ready for tired bodies who are worn out from hiking through the woods taking in all of the spring goodness.

So even though we didn’t find any mushrooms today, I am content. I got to spend time with my 3 favorite kids as we explored the great outdoors. I am so full of fresh air and sunshine my sides are splitting.

I’m glad I never grew up. I’m glad hiking through the woods still fills me with wonder. I’m glad I’m healthy and no longer carrying an extra 140 pounds around so that I can actually climb up muddy hills without gasping. I’m glad I can have a discussion with my number 2 child around rabid beavers and why we don’t stick our hands in big holes. After all, beavers eat trees. Imagine the damage they could inflict on soft, chubby flesh.

Life is good. I am blessed. And maybe I’ll find the mother lode…..tomorrow. Today, I found a holy tree! And really, what could be better than that?