Corals, Puffballs, and Morels. Gigantic stumps and Red dogs Romping

Todd Duncan Tennyson

Todd Duncan Tennyson

Well-known member
I was really fortunate today.

I got my mom out for a stomp in the So Oregon Cascades up near the Winema National Forest.

We took the Red dog, our backpacks,
and we took an old pillow case to fill with what we could find.

I took a mushroom guide book that I have read cover to cover a dozen times since 1984.

A gallon of water, a sturdy knife,
And an old .357 Magnum in case we needed to fire off a few rounds at any tin cans that needed ventilating.



Of course, there were zillions of wildflowers.





[url=https://flic.kr/p/nKSA3P]DSC_5610_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr




[url=https://flic.kr/p/nKSzjp][url=https://flic.kr/p/nKSzjp]DSC_5608_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr




We found some of these Magenta colored trilliums.

I had never seen any other color than white before




[url=https://flic.kr/p/nKSB3V][url=https://flic.kr/p/nKSB3V]DSC_5611_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr


Kaden was really tearing it up.

I'd reckon for every mile we walked, he rolled, sniffed , ran and leapt 5 miles on his own.


[url=https://flic.kr/p/nHQcBo][url=https://flic.kr/p/nHQcBo]DSC_5615_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr


The entire forest floor was alive with color.

As it warmed up, you could smell the cedars and the firs. They have oil in their bark that goes airborne when the sun hits it.

It smelled great, and fresh and good.


[url=https://flic.kr/p/nHQdT1][url=https://flic.kr/p/nHQdT1]DSC_5617_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr




Kaden decided to really plow through them and enjoy them.


[url=https://flic.kr/p/nKzAuv][url=https://flic.kr/p/nKzAuv]DSC_5618.JPG by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr


I found this orchid looking thing,


I am not certain what it was, but it looked worthy of a photo


[url=https://flic.kr/p/nKzBQB][url=https://flic.kr/p/nKzBQB]DSC_5621_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr


the spring out here is something to see


It gets emerald green in places, and there things change so quickly, that a guy can get turned around just a week after the last trip to the same place!



[url=https://flic.kr/p/nKQoXW][url=https://flic.kr/p/nKQoXW]DSC_5624_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr



I love to set that red dog free up here

Because when he is in his element,

Then I am in mine.


All is right with the world for a while.

and to share that time with my mom, makes it very special


[url=https://flic.kr/p/nKSJPB][url=https://flic.kr/p/nKSJPB]DSC_5627_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr




We've always called these flowers "Bleeding Hearts"


[url=https://flic.kr/p/nKSL1V][url=https://flic.kr/p/nKSL1V]DSC_5633_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr




[url=https://flic.kr/p/ntobES][url=https://flic.kr/p/ntobES]DSC_5634_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr



apparently,

they are fun to roll in



[url=https://flic.kr/p/ntonEQ][url=https://flic.kr/p/ntonEQ]DSC_5635.JPG by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr



We stumbled across a few mushrooms and threw them in the official pillow case



[url=https://flic.kr/p/nHQowu][url=https://flic.kr/p/nHQowu]DSC_5637_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr






When I was just a little guy, I remember seeing log trucks rolling through our town (Medford.)

We had about 10 mills in operation back then, and they worked Old Growth.


It was routine to see a semi trailer with a single massive log on the back.


We found a few stumps today that were probably cut about 40 years back.



Kaden fit inside the center of one of them. It was at least 10 feet in diameter.



[url=https://flic.kr/p/nKQvUb][url=https://flic.kr/p/nKQvUb]DSC_5638_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr





[url=https://flic.kr/p/nKzN8R][url=https://flic.kr/p/nKzN8R]DSC_5639_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr






This tree must have been a giant.


[url=https://flic.kr/p/nKSTQT][url=https://flic.kr/p/nKSTQT]DSC_5641_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr





I am lucky to live in one of the most beautiful places on this planet.'




[url=https://flic.kr/p/nMEpje][url=https://flic.kr/p/nMEpje]DSC_5644_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr






Mt McGloughlin (Mt Pitt) is noticeably lacking snow, and this year is going to be a record setting drought year.


The forest fires will roll through, and then a couple years after that, the mushrooms will pop up and start the cycle again




The high meadows have flowers and grasses and cool breezes for now.



[url=https://flic.kr/p/ntokyJ][url=https://flic.kr/p/ntokyJ]DSC_5645_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr




The Morels, Puffballs and Corals are just icing on the cake.



[url=https://flic.kr/p/ntomzb][url=https://flic.kr/p/ntomzb]DSC_5648_edited-1.jpg by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/39779103@N05/]Duncan Tennyson, on Flickr
 
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Very nice. That stump is impressive!

I am pleased to report that two of your wildflowers are blooming prominently in my yard on the other coast right now. I believe the bleeding hearts were planted by a former owner, as they are in several obvious "landscaping" spots. But the purple trillium appear to be volunteers. They're in an unkempt corner of the yard adjacent to a patch of woods that is just full of them. It gives me a good excuse to leave that corner of the yard in its somewhat ragged condition, because our first sign that spring is actually here (crocuses don't count) is when those trillium first bud out. They are in the open and catch some sun, so they bloom about a week ahead of the ones in the woods.

I was in the north country yesterday chasing brook trout, and the white trillium are going wild up there. Trout lillies are gone by, and the lady slippers won't be out for a week or so. Brook trout are getting active, but neither the blackflies nor the mayflies are out yet.

No morels here. I have never seen one in Maine.
 
Do you get any Oyster mushrooms out there-summer to late summer here on dead aspen? Scallop shell appearance shelf-like fruiting body in clusters, with a pearl to light grayish cast and white gills. There is usually a beetle with that is cinammon and black that feeds on them.
 
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Havnt seen any Oyster mushrooms here, I did see them a lot up along the creek on downed alders when I lived in SW Washington. They popped up in the late spring I recall.
 
My new "Best Friend in the Whole World" just posted photos on a local website of a three seperate days pick of just under 700 black morels-all in very nice shape. I have picked around 70 so far this spring...such a chore to have so many in-hand to have to split and dry them!

I have not been able to find spots that consistently produce Chanterelles here. They seem to be a random occurring mushroom. I guess that is why they are so prized. We find Boletus sp. by the ton, but I never have found a species that is that flavorful beyond B. edulus.
 
Todd,

I think your purple trillium are actually white that have turned purple. I have some white ones in my garden that turn purple over time. The center of the ones you pictured are still white. I'm not sure why they turn. I wonder if it is because they have not been pollinated?

Tom
 
Hey Todd,
sorry I missed your call. I was in WY. The newest member of the Lunn clan Summer Rose Lunn was born last week on Monday 5:11PM mountain time, weighing in at a whopping 6lbs 1oz at 20".
While there we celebrated Christopher's 31st birthday and Hunter's 4th birthday. They will be having a busy May birthday schedule for the next 14-18 years.
When I heard your voice mail, I thought you were asking about Morels. Now that I see your post here, I think it was corals you actually asked about.
Looks like your resident chef figured out a good way to cook them up. Tell her I miss that great Thai cuisine.
Glad to see you're back to posting up again. I'll have to check in here more often to check up on you and the clan.
Good luck with the house deal.
 
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