Poison Mushrooms

Yesterday I posted about hunting fall mushrooms, the reason that we got interested in hunting them was because of a mushroom incident that happened to our Pastor.

He recently took his little dog out for her morning walk in the yard when she grabbed up something white in her mouth in a playful way. He realized that it was a mushroom and yelled at her to drop it, she did drop it but I guess she didn't drop it quick enough, the damage was already done.

Within 15 minutes she was vomiting and then the bloody diarrhea began. He rushed her to the Vet. They immediately started an IV when he walked through the door with her, she was obviously dying.

They managed to save her life but she certainly would have died if he had not seen her pick the mushroom up and realized how serious the situation was. They later identified the mushroom on the Vet's computer. She was at the Vet's office for a week and doesn't seem to have any long term affects from her experience at this time.

The Vet was concerned that with the rainy weather that we have had this year, these mushrooms are in everyone's yard. He said that it is rare that pet owners actually see their pets eat or play with the mushroom or toadstool. Most of the time people don't know what makes their dogs sick or why they just get sick and die suddenly.

I am not a mushroom expert, so I won't try to educate anyone here on my blog but it would probably be a good idea to do a little mushroom research to familiarize yourself with some of the things that you commonly see in your area. There are some mushrooms that are only mildly toxic and others that are deadly.

As a matter of fact, one of the spring mushrooms that I have enjoyed from the time I was a child is mildly toxic. You would have to eat a lot of them to make you sick. But some of the summer and fall mushrooms that I have never thought about eating are said to be safe and delicious. I have tried eating giant puffballs that grow like pumpkins here in the fall but didn't think that they tasted all that great.

Tough Kids

Country kids are so much fun. Our two Granddaughters, ages 5 and 6, were on fall break Thursday and Friday, they spent both nights with us. So they were here all day Friday and Saturday.

They entertained themselves by herding the chickens. They kept them in a tight little group, running and chasing them while screaming and giggling. Finally the sounds of shear joy brought Mamaw out of the house to see what they were up to. They got a stern warning about why they should never chase or otherwise annoy chickens. They took the lecture like they take most other lectures, with sly little smiles on their faces. Sometimes I have doubts that I am getting through, other times I know I'm not.

They enjoy simple pleasures when they are here. I was called upon to take them for walks on both Friday and Saturday. All of my Grandkids love for me to take them for walks for some reason. I think they like the sounds my lungs make after climbing steep slopes and crawling up mountainsides or maybe the different shades of color that my face turns.

It had rained most of the day on Friday, so the mud was just the right consistency to be super slick. They both had on black rubber boots with cleats but I had on my worn out Crocks which have no sign of the tread that used to grace their bottoms.

I managed somehow to stay upright, though it was difficult at times. Both of the girls nearly fell a couple of times with one of them finally getting the job done.

What they love to do on these walks is hunt mushrooms and arrowheads. We have done some study on fall mushrooms and while we haven't eaten any yet, we have found some. As for the arrowheads, we haven't found any complete or good ones for awhile but they still collect the chips and broken pieces. They also collect any rock that they think is beautiful.

On Saturday night after grilled chicken, baked potatoes and smores prepared on an open campfire, the two girls and I settled in around the fire for singing and scary stories. I had their baby brother bundled up in a warm blanket on my lap. He didn't last long, it was too dark and comfy, he was snoring within minutes.

The girls sang a few songs then took turns telling scary stories. I pointed out a ghost light in the woods but that didn't interest or scare them. Then I pointed out the fact that their Daddy would probably sneak around in the darkness and try to scare them but that didn't interest them either. He does that so much that it has lost it's affect.

While they were busy trying to outdo each other with their stories, the coyotes started singing nearby. Now this would have added to the general atmosphere of the evening for most young children but not my Granddaughters. I shushed them to listen and they listened for maybe 3 seconds and resumed their stories. Then another pack of coyotes started their howling on the other side of us, very close. I shushed the girls again, to which they deep sighed and immediately started back with the stories.

I gave up, I realized that these country girls just don't scare easily. They have heard coyotes before, so what's the big deal? They have been outside after dark before, so what's the big deal? Their little sister who will be 3 in December, is much more fun. She is terrified of Pirates and Chicken Poop.

The only thing that I have been able to scare these two older girls with is Gobblezilla, he is a giant Turkey who only comes around at Thanksgiving time. He rides on top of their car and is always waiting out there in the darkness ready to gobble them up.

Morel Season

Let me just begin by saying that it is not my intention to provoke any feelings of jealousy here, I am only trying to once more offer my services for the betterment of my reader's lives.

On Sunday afternoon I took less than 30 minutes of my valuable time to run down the hill to the old sink hole to find some mushrooms for my breakfast on Monday morning. This sink hole is not located on our farm, so don't get any ideas! As a matter of fact, we have never found even one mushroom here. This is the first farm that I have ever lived on that doesn't have mushrooms.

I have been a avid mushroom hunter all of my life. I spent hours everyday during the season when I was young and I am talking about from Elementary to High School and beyond. I went alone, no one shared my desire to bag the big ones.


Somehow my life has gotten to complicated to have time to hunt for mushrooms. My priorities are really messed up. For the last several years I have promised myself that I will make the time to go but when the next season arrives, there are too many other commitments that demand my attention. Foaling, kidding, Spring halters sales, tomato plants, shoveling manure, fixing fences, laundry, dishes, new websites, etc...

I am sure that I am not alone in this dilemma. So in order to inspire you to forget all of the other demands on your time and hit the woods, I offer you these pictures and the memories of my Monday morning breakfast. I only found 9 but they were of decent size and extremely flavorable. I find it impossible to eat mushrooms without eggs of course.
Please get out of the house, rearrange your busy schedule and go find some Morels. We have always called our edible shrooms; Black, Gray or Yellow Sponge Mushrooms, also we are never disappointed in finding Snake Heads and Elephant Ears, they are just as tasty. The word "Morel" was just a little to sophisticated for us Hill people.

If you don't take the time to go this year, you may not get another chance next year. Things can change, you may be living in the Antarctic, you could be sick or injured next season. It is important to put the best things in life first. Forget about fixing meals, going shopping, doing laundry, mowing the grass or taking a nap.

**Remember to use a very large mesh bag to bring your bushels of Mushrooms home in, so that the little spores will happily fall all over the ground as you walk about to ensure Mushrooms for future generations.