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   Few people venture into the wilds to forage food that grows in nature, except when it comes to morel mushrooms. Morels are easy to identify, delicious, and grow in most places across the country. When the season starts, which is right now in Southern Iowa, there are people everywhere looking for them. Competition for likely spots where they grow can be intense. That is why we see people out hunting a week or two before they start to grow. They want to be the first ones them when the tasty morsels pop out of the ground. There is also competition from wildlife such as turkey and deer. It is really annoying to go to a one’s favorite spot only to find signs of turkeys leaving only the bottom part of  mushroom stems where a mushroom used to stand. The hard part of finding morels is seeing them. They are usually the same color as the leaves in the timber where they grow. 

   Mushroom season starts when the ground temperature nears sixty degrees and the soil is moist. Morels grow near dead elms or not. They also may or may not grow on south facing creek banks. The best rule of thumb I have discovered is if a person finds some in one area, they will probably be there again the next year. This is why people rarely divulge the location of their finds. The typical answer when asked where they found their morels is usually something like, “in the woods” or “on the ground.” Rarely can a person get any useful information out of a successful mushroom hunter. 

   I decided to go check a couple of spots on Saturday. I knew it was early and dry but I had heard of some people finding a few morels. Usually, several people will lie about finding some just before they are actually popping, knowing anxious people will go out and waste their time looking for something that is not there. I thought this was the case but my wife and I needed to get out and enjoy a nice spring day and procrastinate on mowing the lawn. We took a leisurely ride through the timber and checked several places that have been productive in the past. We did find a few wood ticks, which are also now springing to life. We did not find any mushrooms, which did not surprise either of us. It did not take long to get discouraged in looking for them and give up and go back to the house to mow the lawn.

   Later that evening, I received a text from or grandson, Zane. He sent a picture of a small bunch of morels he found. I sent back a congratulations and asked him where he found them. I was wanting general information such as, “on the south side of a dead hickory tree” or some such vague answer. Instead, he texted back the even more vague answer, “on the ground.” Using my skills as a detective, I was able to deduce his location since the picture showed the mushrooms in his raccoon hunting hard hat and I knew where he was planning to go coon hunting. I have the location narrowed down to about a ten square mile area in southern Iowa. This information is about as helpful as what he had already told me that he found them on the ground. 

   With a nice rain Sunday and warmer temperatures predicted for this week, I expect mushroom hunting to greatly improve. I hopefully will not have to rely on helpful suggestions as to where they might be.

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