Earlier on our morning walk through the pastures and wooded trails on the farm we came across two very cool signs of spring. First, above our property there are some really great wooded areas with huge old growth trees, rock outcroppings and lookouts toward the streams.
While on top of the rocks I spied a little orangy mushroom popping up through the moss covered ground……CHANTRELLES!! We have had a wet spring so far and I was expecting the emergence of the annual Chantrelle growth. In past years that were dry..shrooms were sparse. This year we expect a load of Chantrelles to grow around the farm…we are surrounded by a couple thousand acres of woods and the mushrooms grow like crazy here. There is nobody to pick them other then myself. 
I can collect a basket full in a matter of minutes….and based on what I saw this morning we will have a bumper crop. As a chef, $25 a lb gourmet mushrooms growing wild is a great treat. Omelets, pizzas, bruschetta, bacon and mushroom sandwiches..the possibilities are endless!
Also of note we saw two adorable families of wild turkeys strolling though a neighboring pasture. They had 5 babies or keets, I think they are called. They were really cute as they followed the mamas through the pasture. Of course I was concerned because we have tons of large owls and red tailed hawks.
Living in the country has it’s challenges (weed whacking-mowing etc.) but neat things like wild mushrooms and wildlife make it all worth while. I only wish I had my camera with telephoto so I could have shown you the turkeys……
Keith
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