This is a good time of year to check out the woods and meadows for mushrooms. It just so happens within 3 days of each other, I found two edible and beautiful specimens.

The first is Sulfur Shelf, also known as Chicken-of-the-Woods, (Laetiporus sulphureus). This specie is actually a group of related mushrooms which present in varying colors, textures and shapes, depending on what stage in their transition. This one is absolutely so delicious that I think it tastes better than chicken. I saute' it slowly with diced onions in olive oil. In going from the field, to my camcorder Memory Stick, to the computer, through the internet, to this site, the color of the underside seems more green. Believe me, the underneath side of this mushroom is truly yellow, and aptly named.

The second one, found today, is called Comb Tooth, or Hericium ramosum, and according to reports can be found in a wider time slot than Sulfur Shelf, which I always seem to see in September. Comb Tooth is equally lovely and it grows on hardwood stumps or logs usually.

Is this eating locally or what? Whether on private or public land, these things grow when the conditions are right. Before anyone embarks on eating mushrooms, though, it is absolutely essential to learn from an expert, and/or get all the books on the subject you can find and study, study, study. There is still one I see every year than I cannot identify (yet).

One last word. I do not know enough about mushroom harvesting to be called an expert (not even close) but I always leave much of what I find, so that it can grow even larger, or spew spores for meters, acres, or miles, in the event that is what mushroom hunters do, as would anyone gathering anything in the wild, whether on one's own land or public land.

OK, enjoy the pics.