Harvesting oyster mushrooms in the mountains of Santa Barbara County.
I’m just some lunatic macaroni mushroom, is that it?
—Joe Pesci
With recent rains having finally fallen after the usual long dry period in these parts, and the winter transformation of the dry, brown and crispy woodland into a moist and verdant environment of fresh new plant growth, the wild mushrooms have sprouted. I have been making my early season rounds to favorite harvesting sites and taking home some choice wild edibles. My latest pull has been a few oyster mushrooms.
My humble harvest. Though oyster mushrooms regrow on the same logs year after year and as such provide a sustainable source of food, I see no need to take more than I plan to eat.
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Reblogged this on Say Gudday and commented:
This makes me want to move to Santa Barbara
Is that a bay tree?
Yeah, a dead but still standing bay trunk.
WOW ! You ate those? You are far braver than I.
Hey Bella. I have learned these things in the field from experienced people over the course of more than two decades. Eating wild mushrooms is definitely not something to be done casually without proper education. Book guides are good, but not sufficient. Variations found among mushrooms growing in habitat can make it very difficult if not impossible to confirm whether or not they’re safe to eat based solely on a picture in a guide book.
Indeed, you are a true expert. I would never dare as I know so little about wild mushrooms. What a wonderful thing to be able to do!
Good blog post. You now have a follower. Cheers, Mate!
There was a tree with what looked like the same type of mushrooms growing all over it when I was in Hall Beckley canyon recently. I wished I had the mycological knowledge you have, but since I don’t I let those ‘shrooms be.
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Hey Eric. Better to let it lie than eat it and die.