Chanterelle 101

Friends of ours took us out mushroom picking on Sunday.  This is one thing I had never done in my 20 years of living in Squamish.

After mid-morning lattes and thick slices of apple cobbler we set off in search of the gorgeous chanterelle.

A mere 3 minute drive from our house and we were in the woods.  This is one of the things I absolutely LOVE about living here.

Into the forest....

First we got a tutorial in what a chanterelle is and what it is not by our resident expert.

The mushroom whisperer.

Chanterelle on the left, not a chanterelle on the right.

I wasn't too successful in identifying a chanterelle.  I found lots of mushrooms.  And a few times I thought I had bagged one.  But the elusive fungi eluded me for most of the morning.

 Not a chanterelle.

Not a chanterelle.

Not a chanterelle.

 Definitely not a chanterelle.

 Not a chanterelle.  But this fungus looked positively floral, causing me to comment to my fellow pickers, "Fungi are flowers of the rainforest."

Of course, Joe found chanterelles.

Finally!  I found some chanterelles!  With help, of course, from Mr. Mushroom himself.

So proud.

Happy hunters.

And then there's this guy.

Lunch!

Thanks everyone for a most enjoyable morning.  Let's do it again soon.