What do you call six weeks of rain?

Common ink caps. Sorry guys, you really are not my type.

A well-known joke claims that the answer is "Scottish summer", and by this definition, we've already had at least two this year. The misery has been quite extreme even by local standards, but at least for mushroom lovers like myself there was a small crumb of comfort in knowing that all this moisture will make for a great mushroom hunting season, when it comes. And, in fact, it is almost upon us. I suddenly realised this today, on my regular walk through local woodland, with late morning warmth releasing aromas of the wet forest floor. Yes, warmth, you read that right. Today the temperature has reached a whopping 18 degrees. It's not just summer now, it's a heatwave!

Coming back to mushrooms, I know that in theory you can start your season in April or even March, but there aren't many grasslands around here (therefore, alas, no St George's mushrooms), morels are still an elusive dream, and common ink caps, while available all year (I've seen these fungi happily sprouting in the middle of January), and quite tasty according to some mushroom guides, unfortunately require total abstinence from alcohol for three days before and after eating them. Alas, this is a sacrifice I am not ready to make.

Therefore, my foraging season starts with the appearance of the first chanterelles, and with all the rain we are having, and with a bit of warmth, they should arrive any day. I have great hopes for the weekend, and this means that the subject of next post has to be mushroom hunting equipment. Need to make sure it's ready!

Humans may complain, but this forest is certainly enjoying
its Scottish summers, very much

Image credit: Common ink cap, Coprinopsis atramentaria, used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.