It's Just a Country State of Mind: Hunting morels

I am like so many other folks when it comes to hunting mushrooms. There are two things about it that can't be denied: I love to hunt mushrooms, and I especially love to eat them.

I'm referring to the morel mushrooms, the spongy, grey to yellow colored mushrooms that grow in the spring and that are edible. The weather has been fickle for mushrooms this year.

I've been looking for them with limited success thus far. I'm no worse for the wear and perhaps I've gained a little perspective in the process.

The rules for where to find mushrooms are open for debate. Some people say they come up in the same place every year.

Others say that they grow under dead elm trees. There are some that say mushrooms grow in darker woods with lots of shade while others say sunlight is an important ingredient.

I have found all these statements to be true. I made my first attempt this year to try to find them in early April.

This was after a deluge of water flooded everywhere in the central and southern part of Indiana. After the floods subsided, and the sun came out, I decided to go to an old mushroom spot of mine.

I ended up walking quite a bit and never found anything. I decided it must be too early.

I waited a week and after seeing pictures of them popping up on social media, I was back out in the woods. This time I went to a different spot.

This spot had always faithfully produced mushrooms for me in the past. I walked around for a while with no luck.

It had to be because of the cold nights we'd had for several days. I was going to have to be patient.

Still, the photos of mushrooms continued to show up on my friends' social media pages. I waited again for a few days until it had warmed up sufficiently.

This time I was sure I would come back with something. I walked quite a bit around another spot that I knew – sometimes the morels can be quite elusive.

I did find a rake in the woods this time. I pondered why it was there.

If you've lost a rake in the woods, I found it (call with description to claim)! So, at this point, I was getting kind of discouraged.

But I was not going to give up. I always used to think I had bragging rights when it came to finding mushrooms.

Now, a whole new generation of mushroom hunters has grown up. They fed off of our stories and legends and now they're out there actually finding them.

The competition was killing me. I finally found myself back out in the woods again.

I carried a sack in my pocket, water to drink and a walking stick in my hand. This time I was prepared.

I was going to stay out in the woods until I found one. The location of this place is top secret.

I cannot tell you, but I will tell you this: I found some! My mushroom drought was over!

I was beside myself with excitement. I found quite a few.

There was enough to cook for a couple of nights' dinners. I had finally redeemed myself.

At the time of this writing, I can tell you that I'm still at it. The weather is still unpredictable, and the season will soon pass.

Time is of the essence. Now, about that "perspective" I was talking about earlier.

This mushroom season has been a lesson in perseverance for me. If you want something bad enough, you have to keep trying.

Perhaps it was hearing my dad's voice in my head after all these years, encouraging me to keep going. He was a mushroom connoisseur, the king of mushroom hunters.

He always taught that in time, perseverance pays off. And it did.

I may not have found the mother lode of mushrooms that I had wanted to find, but I did find all that I needed. No need to be greedy.

And about that rake. It's anybody's guess what that was about.

All the old adages still ring true: "the early bird does get the worm," and "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

And my favorite saying of this morel tale: "Carpe diem! Seize the day!"

Happy hunting!