Autumn Rains, Mushroom Picking and Childhood Memories

After a couple of beautiful sunny days, cloudy skies and rain have returned to our little corner of the world. The wind is starting to gust and the yellowing leaves on the trees outside are dropping and flying around our backyard.

From a sunny Saturday...

We sometimes talk about what is our favorite time of the year comma and when I think about it it's actually difficult for me to pick. The truth is that I have good memories of all seasons.

One of the things I always loved about fall, was that we got to go pick wild mushrooms out in the woods. Since our climate here is quite similar to what I grew up with in Denmark, it means that we also find many of the same mushrooms here.

It was usually my father, my auntie, and myself who would go to the woods when I was a boy. The most treasured thing out there was the yellow chanterelles, but sometimes we would also find regular white mushrooms, as well as the chanterelle look-alikes known as hedgehogs.

As I looked out at our rainy and windy backyard, my wife reminded of how we always had to be prepared for all kinds of weather conditions. Often, we would leave on a bright sunny day and after a couple of hours we would find ourselves in the middle of a rainstorm! But we always took it in our stride.

On occasion, although not very often, we would hit a spot at just the right time and sometimes we would stay out there picking mushrooms until we would eventually lose the light.

We would return home cold and wet but triumphant, often bearing 30 to 40 lb a fresh Forest bounty. Some would end up being served with that evening's pork chops, but most would be frozen to enjoy during the winter. Even though we didn't use that term back then, we were doing an early version of "homesteading."

We'd often finish our dinner with some fresh blackberries, which would still be in season although that would be ending as well.

Carrying on the tradition all these years later, later this week we are hoping to join up with a good friend and head out to the forest here in the Pacific Northwest also to look for chanterelles.

Maybe it sounds silly, but there's something extremely peaceful and at the same time satisfying about trudging around in the woods and finding what amounts to basically "free food!" And not only is it free food, it's also delicious free food.

I think one of the things I really enjoy about it is that it gives us a sense that we are being at least a little bit self-reliant, in this world where we otherwise are so dependent on the modern conveniences around us.

I suppose I also feel a little bit smug because I know that chanterelles currently cost $45 US a pound ($95/kg) at the local supermarket. They are quite the luxury item, after all!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a marvelous remainder of your week!

How about you? Do you enjoy the fall season? Do you have a favorite time of the year? Have you ever gone mushroom hunting? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2023.10.10 02:41 PDT
x626