BTW, BH, your kids mugging for the camera are hilarious. :-) Bruce

Seems to be chicken of the woods, but definitely too far gone to eat. Come back to this same log next year and maybe you'll have more luck. Bruce

Oysters do this when they get rained on or generally get a day or two past prime. If I get hard up for wild mushrooms, I've been known to collect them and trim them as you did; but since they fruit pretty much all summer I usually just wait until I stumble across something that's in better shape. What you did won't hurt you. I just think it's more work than it's worth. Hope this helps, Bruce

Nice! I got about 5 pounds myself yesterday. Chicken-fried mushrooms for dinner tomorrow! Bruce

Just some stuff coming up in my yard. Agaricus campestris. These have been coming up since the last rain but are slowing now. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Hd-eKxme9RDJCaiMktB9YcrGtNJuWhef Calvatia craniformis (I believe). Nice fairy ring around a cedar tree. https://drive.google.com/open?id=16iGHu7iDybbmYrstWqWueRO5Vz4Ql7i_ Coprinellus disseminatus (not edible). These are coming up by the TENS OF THOUSANDS at the base of a couple of dead trees. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1TwPDS9vqrBH0YCme48321-chGVt8ssMF I love this time of year...kinda nice to be able to step outside and collect a few edibles without actually going anywhere. Bruce

Here's a photo of a recent find. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oH_73sgbdh0m3GrmTxK26q-TTHsPBrrl It was growing in oak forest duff. The caps are 2" across or less. In the field, I thought it was Boletus auripes (Butter-Foot Bolete). Upon getting it home, though, I see that the stem reticulation -- if present -- is VERY subtle. The flesh does not bruise blue. A drop of ammonia on top of the cap caused no discernible reaction. A spore print is still in progress. Thoughts? Bruce

These are coming up in my yard after recent rains. They are under a tree and seem to be sprouting from buried roots. Honey mushrooms, or what? https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qzMqvJKuMD-kWuh88BNQKlFvWklGOduF https://drive.google.com/open?id=1JSJ7tQKzgw4emkcYHrSy-2maTWTrqSJ- Thanks, Bruce P.S. I apologize for making you click on links, but this site STILL refuses to let me upload images directly for some reason. It suddenly quit working the minute I sent in my HMS membership fee.

Well, I seem to be one of the lucky ones. No untoward effects. I will be eating them again. Bruce P.S. I took a spore print beforehand, just to make sure it was white. Better safe than sorry.

I agree (A. tabescens). This morning I finally bucked up my nerve, saute'd a few in a minimal amount of butter and ate them. They were quite tasty. Hopefully I won't experience any gastrointestinal effects. Bruce

Just another puffball photo. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KOF9bs2I4b-ZQ4erzNyuiiFIe_pZnMsw Bruce

Meadow mushrooms (Agaricus sp) displaying several stages of development. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1CctArTyKJ2seUH691Bk0IcpxgoTSIsEx Bruce

Same problem here. It's been that way for months. No idea why. Bruce

Here are the results of this afternoon's mushroom foray. I was only out hiking for about an hour, but with the brutal heat index today, that was quite long enough. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1JQTasM6hmjyfmiQuyST9SclhfOeOtHYC Clockwise from top-right, we have oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus pulmonarius), mixed chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarus/lateritius), a ridiculous collection of crown corals (Artomyces pyxidatus), and a lovely pair of lilac boletes (Xanthoconium separans). Bruce

Those look similar to what I just posted. Bruce

A small crop of corn smut (Ustilago maydis), courtesy of our neighbor down the road. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1i-u92DMgUJ3W5sMZWU7mG7FR5xZbtsFc It tastes a lot better than it looks. Bruce

It's native...just some fungus that grew on my neighbor's field corn. As for supplying a sample, we have cooked all the good stuff and fed the rest to the chickens. I think my wife has a cache of two-year=old spores, though. We have tried to cultivate it by growing some corn and spraying the silks with them, but our soil isn't very good for corn and what corn we do get ends up feeding the raccoons. Bruce

Those do look like Lilac Boletes to me. http://www.mushroomfarm.com/mushroom-species/boletes/xanthoconium-separans.html Most boletes that do not have a red pore surface and do not stain blue on bruising are edible. But not all. And "edible" does not necessarily mean "good." Getting a book or two and studying up is a good idea. There's a lot of good information on the web, but a lot of misinformation, too. Bruce

All I can say is, wow. I must be looking in the wrong place! Bruce

Chicken-fried "Chicken of the Woods" with onion gravy. Dust it with a good amount of black pepper and you'd never know it wasn't a pork cutlet. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NqoSf2OoOmboliaApjLzBcNh93oa988n https://drive.google.com/open?id=1OcEW8OlwMPfgFr9yQGoOCbXwmmr_aEJO Bruce

That looks like a purple-spored puffball (Calvatia cyathiformis). They are edible but -- like most puffballs -- the flavor is pretty mild. Be sure the flesh is white throughout, not starting to turn purple yet. Some folks remove the outer skin but we find that step to be unnecessary. We ate a couple of this same species two days ago sliced thin like eggplant and saute'd in olive oil with minced garlic until just browned. It was really good prepared that way. Bruce

I totally capitulate to your culinary creations. Bruce

Mmmmm. You're making me hungry! One of my mushroom reference books offers this little repartee' on Laetiporus: "Does it really taste like chicken?" "Real chicken doesn't taste this good." B

Two evenings ago, my wife pulled some out of the freezer, part of the 2016 harvest. We needed to either eat it or throw it out. After trimming for freezer burn, she dipped the resulting strips in milk and rice flour and pan-fried it. Prepared this way, we both agreed that the two-year-old stuff was all but indistinguishable from fresh Laetiporus "fingers" that I'd collected just a few days previously. Having rained two days ago, I'm hoping to find more today...with luck, my cauliflower mushrooms will be fruiting again, too. Bruce

The ones I encountered were growing on an old cottonwood stump. Bruce

Lovely. What's the best way to preserve excess harvest? In the past, I've simply cleaned and frozen them; and although that works okay, they come out a little chewy. Bruce