If you want to find morel mushrooms this year, here’s a tip: don’t wait until spring to begin your hunt.
This might sound like unconventional advice. After all, current temperatures are too cold for morels. Wood frogs haven’t even bred yet. Spring is still another 50 days away.
All these things are true. But this next statement is also true: you can drastically improve your future chances of finding morels by doing a few things right now.
In a brand-new video, I discuss several tactics we can implement immediately. I also share my predictions for the upcoming season. Will the mushrooms be plentiful this year? Will they be scarce?
At least that’s what some people say. If it’s true, then sadness would have to be a butterfly-less world.
Fortunately, you and I will probably never experience such a world. The planet currently hosts over 17,000 butterfly species. The United States alone has over 700 butterfly species. Most of these species are doing okay, but some are at risk of extinction. The Karner blue and San Bruno elfin, among others, are endangered in the United States.
And then there’s the monarch butterfly — an iconic species known for its epic migration. Monarch populations, according to several credible sources, are declining. To halt the decline, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recently proposed to list the monarch as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Interestingly, this proposal is receiving criticism. Some people think that monarchs don’t need our help. Some researchers even claim there isn’t strong evidence of widespread declines.
Who are we to believe? Are monarch butterflies really in trouble? If so, why are populations declining? Is more intervention a good thing? Should we really be raising monarchs at home? And how does organized crime tie into all this?
Want to improve your winter tree identification skills? Here’s a good tip: Look for marcescent leaves.
Marcescence describes leaves that have turned brown and are still attached to trees. These withered leaves often persist on the trees until spring.
As you might expect, marcescence isn’t a feature displayed by too many woody plants. When you see a marcescent tree or shrub, you can narrow down your ID choices to a relatively small number of species.
In the temperate woodlands of eastern North America, marcescence is often displayed by hornbeam (Carpinus), beech (Fagus), witch-hazel (Hamamelis), hophornbeam (Ostrya), and oak (Quercus).
No one is exactly sure why marcescence exists. Here are a few hypotheses:
It allows plants to photosynthesize longer into the autumn season.
It deters herbivores from browsing twigs and buds.
Marcescent trees provide shelter to animals that in turn provide nutrients to trees.
Marcescent leaves, when they finally fall off, provide pulses of nutrients to their host trees.
Marcescent leaves, when they finally fall off, smother new growth of competing woody plants in the spring.
All of these statements can be true to some degree, but it is uncertain whether any one of them is the true reason for marcescence.
Still, you and I can use marcescence to our advantage when attempting to identify woody plants. A good first step is to learn which woody plants are marcescent in our region. We can then seek out these plants, spend some time with them, and fall in love with the process.
To learn even more tips for identifying trees, consider enrolling in Trees In All Seasons. Today is the final day of the winter sale.
Also, if you’re interested in learning how to forage mushrooms this winter, consider enrolling in Foraging Wild Mushrooms. This 4-season online course is on sale until the end of today, December 23.
“The wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more.”
It’s no surprise that Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote these words. The famous American writer was intimately connected to trees: He planted trees, gathered their fruits, and taught his children the value of learning their names.
Emerson spoke the language of trees, yet was still humble enough to acknowledge that every encounter with trees presented a fresh opportunity to engage in wonder.
Who are you? How old are you? Why are you here? Can you say anything about the underlying rocks? What can you tell us about the broader ecosystem?
In the spirit of Ralph Waldo Emerson, you and I can ask these kinds of questions every time we encounter a tree. When we ask questions, we engage in wonder.
A basic step we can then take to answer those questions is first to learn the names of trees. Fortunately, there are many ways to learn. We can:
Study tree ID field guides
Learn how to use dichotomous keys
Learn all major physical features of trees (buds, bark, leaves, flowers, etc.)
Learn habitat characteristics of trees
Attend tree ID walks
Visit arboretums (where trees are often labeled)
Cultivate friendships with local tree enthusiasts
Teach others what we have learned
If you’re looking for a carefully curated opportunity to improve your tree identification skills, consider enrolling in Trees In All Seasons. This online course teaches you how to identify 100 trees in every season. It’s currently on sale through Monday, December 23.
Regardless of how you decide to learn, I strongly encourage you to hone your tree identification skills over time. With learning comes wonder, appreciation, love, and the unraveling of at least some of nature’s mysteries.
In anticipation of the winter season, I am excited to announce that two Learn Your Land online courses are on sale this week.
To improve your foraging skills, consider enrolling in Foraging Wild Mushrooms.This 4-season online course is designed to help you safely and successfully harvest wild mushrooms from the forest, from the field, and even from your backyard.
To improve your tree identification skills, consider enrolling in Trees In All Seasons. This online course teaches you how to identify 100 trees in every season. If you want to develop the confidence to look at a tree and say, “That’s black spruce, no doubt about it,” or “That’s most certainly sourwood,” or “That can’t be anything but mockernut hickory,” consider enrolling today.
These courses are self-paced and presented entirely online. Once enrolled, you can start, stop, and resume at any time.
Cases of tick-borne diseases are on the rise, and people are wondering what to do.
Spray more repellent on clothes? Wrap more duct tape around socks? Ingest more Japanese knotweed? Cull more deer?
How about introducing more earthworms into tick-prone landscapes?
It sounds bizarre, but some ecologists are researching this latter strategy. According to a few studies, the prevalence of earthworms is associated with fewer ticks in certain ecosystems.
How is this possible? Why are earthworms associated with fewer ticks? Could the intentional release of earthworms into wild landscapes work as a viable tick-reduction strategy?
In a brand-new video, I address these fascinating questions.
It isn’t an easy question to answer, but I try my best to explain what it is about trees that makes me feel good.
I love the food trees offer. I enjoy the medicine trees provide. I like the shade trees cast. And I admire their beauty.
But there’s something else about trees I really appreciate: their ability to tell stories.
As it turns out, trees tell remarkable stories of peace, tragedy, death, and — believe it or not — democracy.
One notable tale that trees tell quite well is the story of America’s birth as a nation. While many people associate this story with icons like the Liberty Bell and the Declaration of Independence, the founding of the United States is also strongly connected — both physically and symbolically — to one particular tree.
Tall, majestic, and extremely useful, this tree has been famously labeled “the tree that built America.”
Speaking of trees, I was recently interviewed on Harvesting Nature’s Wild Fish and Game Podcast. In the interview, we discussed how trees can help you become a better hunter and observer of wildlife.
This course is designed to improve your ecological knowledge by introducing you to fascinating ecosystems — including alvars, barrens, bogs, dunes, fens, glades, savannas, vernal pools, and others!
Learning to recognize ecosystems is an essential step toward understanding how nature works. When we pay attention to the bigger picture, we see beyond individual components. We see connections, we see relationships, and we see where humans fit into the story.
If you want to develop ecological literacy; if you want to be able to read landscapes more effectively; if you want to see how all the components within nature are connected, consider enrolling in Exploring Wild Ecosystems today.
Please note that Exploring Wild Ecosystems is open for one week only — from today until Monday, September 30. After that, registration will be closed. Upon registration, you can immediately access all course content and view the lessons at your own pace.
To learn more about the course, check out this video which gives you an overview of what you can expect.
Thanks for supporting nature education! I hope to see you in there!
Many years ago, I became obsessed with finding wild cranberries. At the time, I had only read about wild cranberries in foraging books. I had never seen a single cranberry in the wild.
On my quest to find wild cranberries, I somehow ended up in northern Pennsylvania. A friend told me that a bog existed several miles north of I-80. “You can’t miss it,” my friend said. When I arrived at the location and stepped out of my car, all I could see was a deciduous forest.
“A bog must be in there somewhere,” I thought. Rather than consult a map, I immediately hopped on a trail leading into the woods.
A closed-canopy forest surrounded me for many miles. Large trees prevented sunlight from reaching the understory. The forest exuded dark beauty, but it lacked wild cranberries.
I continued walking deeper into the forest, constantly scanning the ground for wild cranberries. No luck.
Hours passed before a realization dawned on me. Earlier in the day, I saw an extensive opening in the forest. It was way off in the distance near the beginning of the trail. Unfamiliar with bogs, I thought the opening might’ve been a field or a meadow, so I ignored it. Several hours later, I realized my amateur mistake. Could the opening have been a bog?
With daylight fading fast, I headed back toward the opening and eventually walked into a sphagnum-rich ecosystem bursting with wild cranberries. “So this is a bog,” I thought to myself. “How could I have overlooked this?”
In hindsight, it’s easy to see how I missed the bog. I had no idea that a bog was an open habitat. I had no idea that finding a bog in a forest could be as simple as looking for light.
Today, I see things a bit differently. I certainly don’t consider myself to be an expert forager, but I understand the importance of developing ecological literacy — something that specialists often disregard.
To improve any outdoor skill — foraging, botanizing, birding, hunting — it’s essential that we learn the ecosystems in which our desired organisms live. I’m not sure why ecological thinking is undervalued today, but I decided to do something about it.
Exploring Wild Ecosystems is my newest online course designed to help you gain ecological literacy. If you want to be able to read landscapes more effectively, consider enrolling today. Enrollment is currently open until Monday, September 30.
Before I share a brand-new video with you, I’d like to mention that my newest online course, Exploring Wild Ecosystems, will reopen for registration on Monday, September 23.
This online course is designed to strengthen your relationship to wild places by introducing you to fascinating terrestrial and wetland ecosystems. With a focus on the connections and communities that bind nature together, Exploring Wild Ecosystems will help you gain important ecological skills.
Speaking of connections, forests are teeming with connections of all kinds. Nothing in a forest exists in isolation.
Take the cauliflower mushroom, for instance.
This edible mushroom grows in association with certain trees. To find the cauliflower mushroom, it only makes sense to explore ecosystems where these trees grow.
During a recent hike, I discovered a cauliflower mushroom growing near a mature red oak. Sensing the connection, I started checking every oak in the forest. Within 30 minutes, I found two more cauliflower mushrooms — one of which I harvested and turned into a delicious meal.
Fortunately, I brought my camera along to document the experience. To learn more about this lovely edible mushroom, check out the brand-new video.
Thanks for reading and watching! If you want to develop ecological literacy and see how all the components within nature are connected, consider enrolling in Exploring Wild Ecosystems on Monday.
Paths I Walk 
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