These pictures are heart breaking Not only loss of trees, but the fact I didn’t find any mushrooms this year Glad you are safe
A morel Dilemma....
6
Last summer the Kenai Peninsula burned! Wildfires everywhere. It was tragic and killed our local economy. We did not see rain from late May until early August. Hundreds of thousands of acres of pristine wilderness burned. Roads were closed, picture some real fire and brimstone action. Commerce was halted, both land and air.
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Fall came late. October sprinkles, November snows, and the fires died. We rebounded as we do, Alaskan's are a hearty breed. Communities shared resources, we supported local businesses and we pushed forward.
It is now Spring, a time of regrowth, we collect birch sap to make syrup, we pick spruce buds to make beer, we collect cotton wood buds to make salve for the upcoming pushki burns. Spring edibles thrive, fireweed shoots taste like asparagus, nettles make great pesto, fiddlehead ferns are everywhere, and if you time it just right.... just right... JUST RIGHT....
A big burn or two turns into a HUGE MOREL crop. We harvested 7.34 lbs of morels yesterday and my extended family 11 lbs the day before. We returned sooty, tired and full of smiles.
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They were not huge morels, but there were huge amounts of medium sized ones.
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I was able to find a few choice specimens,
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We had moose rib steaks with morels and chives that grow behind our house, cooked over the fire. I wish I had a shot of that magic going down.
Long story short, nature is a phoenix, a series of birth, death and regrowth. It is a beautiful struggle I am happy to know my place in. I am thankful that I get to participate actively in the food chain .
Have a great morning.
MSturm
Fall came late. October sprinkles, November snows, and the fires died. We rebounded as we do, Alaskan's are a hearty breed. Communities shared resources, we supported local businesses and we pushed forward.
It is now Spring, a time of regrowth, we collect birch sap to make syrup, we pick spruce buds to make beer, we collect cotton wood buds to make salve for the upcoming pushki burns. Spring edibles thrive, fireweed shoots taste like asparagus, nettles make great pesto, fiddlehead ferns are everywhere, and if you time it just right.... just right... JUST RIGHT....
A big burn or two turns into a HUGE MOREL crop. We harvested 7.34 lbs of morels yesterday and my extended family 11 lbs the day before. We returned sooty, tired and full of smiles.
They were not huge morels, but there were huge amounts of medium sized ones.
I was able to find a few choice specimens,
We had moose rib steaks with morels and chives that grow behind our house, cooked over the fire. I wish I had a shot of that magic going down.
Long story short, nature is a phoenix, a series of birth, death and regrowth. It is a beautiful struggle I am happy to know my place in. I am thankful that I get to participate actively in the food chain .
Have a great morning.
MSturm
