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In my part of the country, somewhere between the first and fifteenth of May, morel mushrooms spring forth from their winter hiding places and provide the intrepid mushroom hunters with a gourmet treat. The only catch is, the hunter has to find them before the repast can be savored. The mushrooms are exactly the same color as the leaves where they like to grow on the forest floor. They like to grow under rose bushes, where they are not only difficult to see, but also difficult to reach without losing pieces of flesh and moderate amounts of blood. Wood ticks, mosquitoes, and gnats also ad interest to the foray into the woods

After the winter we had, I was sure the snow melt would provide adequate moisture for a bumper mushroom crop. The long periods of extremely cold temperatures would surely kill all or most of the wood ticks and other annoying insects that are part of the pestilence we mushroom hunters endure.

I know of people that will start hunting for morels when snow is still on the ground. I am dedicated to my sport, but am not crazy. When I get reports of successful hunts from two or three reliable sources, I will start looking. I do not have an all consuming need to find the first mushroom of the year. When I go out looking, I want to be sure what I am hunting is actually there. It is difficult enough to find the little camouflaged fungus when they are hiding in plain sight. I do not want to waste my time looking when they have not spouted yet.

Last week, my wife and I, one grandson and two dogs headed off into the timber with high hopes and great anticipation. We people were anticipating bags full of mushrooms. The dogs were just anticipating a run in the woods, with perhaps a squirrel or rabbit to chase. They were not bothered by mosquitoes or gnats, and only moderately annoyed by the ticks they picked up on their romp. The three of us walked ditches, hills and open paths. We were able to find six mushrooms. I alone, was able to find twelve ticks, a row of chigger bites across my back, and a mosquito bite on my ear. My co-hunters faired only slightly better in the annoying insect attacks. We expended many more calories on the hunt than we gained from eating the six mushrooms.

Sunday, we faired only slightly better. My wife and I found eight mushrooms, but the dogs did not do as well, in spite of having a wonderful time chasing squirrels and trying to figure out what we were looking for. They were able to pick up many more ticks than the previous trip.

Louie, the boxer, is a brown, short haired male dog. When he has a tick on him, he comes and tells the nearest person to get it off of him. When we got back to the porch from our minimally successful hunt, Louie came to me and looked at his hind leg. This was the signal, there was a tick and I was supposed to get it off. I removed the offending bug and started checking him over. I found one on his belly and tried picking it off. It was attached firmly and when I became more persistent, he cried. On closer examination, I discovered nipples on a brown male dog look exactly like a wood tick. They are though, more firmly attached.

So far, our mushroom hunts have found more ticks than food, but we are still determined to go after the elusive delicacy.`

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