Birch bolete in town

Forest mushrooms in town, always a lovely sight

A post shared by Fungidelight (@fungidelight) on Oct 18, 2017 at 11:03am PDT

Snakeskin grizette

Snakeskin grisette - a close relative of the feared death cap, but not as poisonous, according to some references. Still, better left alone!

A post shared by Fungidelight (@fungidelight) on Oct 26, 2017 at 10:52am PDT

Instagram!

Fungidelight is now on Instagram, and it looks like it will be the main platform for sharing mushroom adventures from now on. There is not much time for text in my life now, sadly, however I always have my mobile phone with me, and posting those finds is only a matter of a couple of taps.

https://www.instagram.com/fungidelight/

I will be posting mushroom-related images here, but the Instagram account is not just about mushrooms, but mainly the beauty of nature.

Enjoy!

Town walk

A post shared by Fungidelight (@fungidelight) on Oct 15, 2017 at 2:09am PDT

Tips for better mushroom photography

There is a fairly large backlog of photos and stories I have been meaning to share here, but life keeps getting in the way. But I haven't completely given up on this blog yet, and will be returning to it soon.

Meanwhile, here is a very short video I've come across on the web about better mushroom photography.

Basically, it is all about lighting, and this is certainly the biggest issue I have come across when attempting to take mushroom photos. Fungi like hiding in dark places, and with my current extremely basic setup I'm lucky if one in ten images is good enough to be shared. And ass for them having any artistic value, I've long given up on that.

I'd love to follow the tips in the clip, and I agree that they would greatly improve image quality. However, the problem for me is that the sheer amount of equipment you need to carry with you is off-putting. You can either carry the photography gear, or mushroom-collecting gear, but not both. So within mushroom-collecting season, this is only viable to me with a willing assistant. But in times when expectations to find something edible are low, and therefore I'm not burdened with baskets, containers, knives, guides, repellents, etc. etc. - it's certainly worth a try.

A most successful hunt (and a toad)

End of July is the time when the forest starts displaying significant edible fungus diversity. I was counting on seeing many different kinds of mushrooms, but certainly not filling the basket. This is normally for August, the high mushroom season. But the recent warm weather, coupled with ample rain has urged fungi to fruit in greater numbers than usual.

The first encounter was a family of humble russulas -

A bit useless in the pot, but always an indication that better goods are nearby

Then some giant chanterelles hiding under heather -

Many more to come this trip!

 A sudden movement in the undergrowth -

Not a deer. Thank goodness for that!

Right next to it, a beautiful cep -

Good enough for a desktop background, not to mention my basket

A lone Amanita, probably rubescens (edible), but the first rule of mushroom hunter who wishes to die of natural causes is as follows: NEVER put an amanita into your basket.

Best left alone

A little bit further into the woods there was a large clearing, partly overgrown with heather, with lots and lots of chanterelles -

These, and about a thousand more nearby - all ripe for picking

These chanterelles were growing under birch trees, so the next encounter was not unexpected -

Brown birch bolete, in perfect condition

As well as the one after that -

Orange birch bolete. Highly unusual to see one in July.

Further on the forest path, a lurid bolete -

Not only beautiful, but also edible after a bit of boiling

And another perfect cep specimen -

Delightful!

Not far from it, some common deceivers. My basket was already full at that point (all those chanterelles!), and in any case they are hardly worth taking due to their small size and lack of taste. Still, they are certainly good enough for a photo -

Lovely colours!

And so the foraging trip ended. The final result is in the photo below. It took me the whole of the next day to process all those chanterelles, and my family has been complaining that the fungal component of their diet has become somewhat overwhelming. But they needn't suffer any more: I got a solution for that. More about it later!

Clockwise from mid-left: slippery jack, bay bolete, four brown birch boletes, six ceps (and a cap), two saffron milk caps, orange birch bolete, lurid bolete and many, many, many chanterelles. A great haul, especially considering the time of year.