Chanterelle season is not yet upon us

We FINALLY had rain on Wednesday. When Paul asked if I wanted to go mushroom hunting I jumped at the chance, as I nearly always do - especially at the beginning of the season. By the end of the season, I will sometimes say no if I am inundated with chanterelles anyway. So we went today, October 1.

The thing I hate about chanterelle season is how it overlaps with deer hunting season. Today was the FIRST day of hunting season, so we were a bit concerned that there would be a lot of people with guns out in the woods, all hoping for their first buck on the first day. We dressed up in our orange vests. I dressed up Izzy in her little orange vest and attached her bell. I love that bell because I can hear her in the vicinity without looking up to see her. Izzy runs between Paul and I and always leads me right back to wherever Paul is. Even when that isn’t what I am trying to do. Then Paul gives me shit for encroaching on “his” territory. He makes everything into a competition.

We had been at “our” site for more than ½ hour before I started hearing gunshots. At first, it sounded closer to us than the shooting range which is in earshot. There were a few more shots before I realized it wasn’t close by. Izzy does not like gunfire. She puts up with it but I can tell that it makes her anxious. I guess after 20 years of collecting chanterelles during deer hunting season in Oregon has made me a little immune to the sound of gunfire in the woods. As long as it isn’t too near. It turned out that it was likely just some guys sighting in their guns at the range.

There were hardly any chanterelles. Many of the ones I found were moldy! Unbelievable on the first day of October. I usually have had a couple of weekends of doing nothing but cleaning and freezing chanterelles by now. I am starting to regret throwing out five-year old bags of frozen chanterelles last year before the season had started. We are nearly out now since last year was a bad year, also. Dried out and then drowned. It seems this year may be the same, sadly.

Climate change is really starting to hit home.