Rainforest in PA?

There are times when the shack nasties get the best of me and I just have to go outside… rain or shine. The local woodlot where I find most of my morel mushrooms was seemed more like the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest than western Pennsylvania. I shrugged on my raingear, shouldered my camera bag, and headed for the door. As always, Otis beat me to the truck.

I never have to look far to find something interesting when I walk these trails. Today, warblers seemed to be in every tree and bush. Rose-breasted grosbeaks sang pleasantly from the upper canopy. Newts and frogs went about their business of amphibious life. If I happened to miss something, Otis the Wonder Dog was sure to point it out. I pushed the may apple aside with my walking stick hoping for a mushroom or two. I was not disappointed. Amid the jack-in-the-pulpits, trillium, and wild geraniums, morels were there for the taking. With such a short season (maybe two weeks for these larger specimens), I snatched up as many as I could find. Not bad for a couple of hours in the field. It sure would be easier if Otis didn’t need a bath every time we went for a hike J