Soil at 50 degrees is the minimum for morel mushrooms. Each year about this time, every week I take the soil temp in the woods where they grow; this first time got 54 degrees. But really we can't expect them at this latitude (39N) so early in spring. If you were a morel, would you want to stand in wet 54-degree mud and stay there? Would you even poke your head out if there's still a chance that a freeze might shrivel your delicate tissues? Granted, it's very rich mud, quite satisfactory, but if I were a morel at this time of year there wouldn't be enough sun to coax me out.
So when the rain temporarily ceased, I (who am not a morel) went searching in the universe for other signs of spring, edible and not, and, dog my cats, I found some. The daffodil is not in my yard.
Plenty of brand-new Turkey Tail mushrooms and those brown Japanese wood-ears were growing on downed trees.
I and my neighbor Terri vote that spring should last all year. Yourself?
1 comment:
Sue Hubbell's book A Country Year is divided by seasons and has two springs in it. HIghly recommended reading if you haven't read it yet.
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