Greetings!
After spending a wonderful weekend teaching classes at the Midwest Wild Harvest Festival in Wisconsin, I’m back in Pennsylvania and excited to experience the transformations that accompany the autumn season.
Western Pennsylvania, unlike most of Wisconsin, has experienced very little rainfall during the past month. Honey holes and hen houses have been awfully and uncharacteristically quiet in many parts of our woods, leading many dispirited foragers to wonder aloud (and especially on Facebook): “Is it time to hang up the basket?”
Fortunately, the claim that any mushroom season is “poor” is oftentimes one of opinion and conjecture. As the notable mycologist Gary Lincoff would frequently say: “Even if you don’t see the mushrooms, they’re there.”
In other words, keep looking.
Taking Gary’s advice to heart, I’m forever committed to finding fungi even in the most inhospitable of circumstances. In this brand new video, I share with you a recent excursion into the (very dry) woods in search of autumn mushrooms.
More than just a mushroom hunt, however, this video features discussions on old growth trees, the ecological value of parasites, and nutty decomposers.
Enjoy!
I was a recent guest on the World Wild Podcast, hosted by internationally renowned wild foods expert, author, and public speaker Miles Irving. In this interview, we discuss nature deficit disorder, societal barriers to nature connection, medicinal mushrooms, wild spring water, and more. Check it out!
Thanks for reading and watching, and as always, thank you for your support!
-Adam Haritan
Paths I Walk 