Bruce

They look like Suillus to me (the pine needles are a big clue). Bruce

Lovely Hericium. I'm jealous! Bruce

XNME -- I suggest that you eat what you want and don't fret about what I say. It's pretty obvious that I don't know what I'm talking about and those people on shroomery.com do. Bruce

I have eaten Ramaria formosa before, by accident, thinking that was I'd collected was growing on buried wood. They did not taste good. Maybe if you cooked them until the cows come home... I suppose they are edible, because I did not get sick. By that definition, I suspect most mushrooms are "edible." And in fact, every mushroom is edible...once. Experimenting on your own is not the way to go if you expect to live a good, long life. Regards, Bruce

Pleurotis pulmonarius. To me, they smell like anise. Bruce

The coral fungus is Ramaria formosa. Not edible. The bolete looks like a Brick-cap bolete to me, because the pore surface is not decurrent. Scratch it and if it turns blue immediately then that's what it is. That one will likely make you sick, too. There's a Lactarius in here and some other things but I'm not comfortable attempting to ID them for you. Bruce

By the way, fence your chickens away from your winecaps, or any other mushroom plot. If you don't, they'll eat the mycelium and you'll get no mushrooms. Been there, done that. Bruce

Oysters will grow happily and quickly on aspen. They like just about anything but conifers. As logs rot, they are taken over by a progression of fungi. Oysters prefer to be the first, and will feast on the sugars that remain in the wood. Waiting 4-5 months from tree death to inoculation is not a good idea. Drop a live tree, buck it, and get your plugs in within the first 2-3 weeks. Even then, you'll get most of your production in year two or later. I'm not saying that your oysters won't grow anyway (they're very aggressive), but with consideration of how easy it is to just drop another small tree you'll be ahead of the game by starting out that way. Hope this helps, Bruce

Maybe....please provide details, including location. Bruce

Looks like jack-o-lantern, but the spore print shouldn't be orange. So, I dunno. Bruce

There won't be anything to hunt if it doesn't rain soon. Bruce

Agaricus is a catch-all "genus" for gilled mushrooms. Some are edible, many are not. If you're wanting meadow mushrooms, it's a little early for that. Regards, Bruce

If that's a Dryad's Saddle, it's a really old one. Unfortunately, Dryad's Saddle and morels are about all you'll find this time of year. Morels are great, but I just don't have the knack of seeing them hidden in leaf litter like others seem to. To get started, read a book. I recommend "Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States" by McFarland and Muller. https://www.amazon.com/Edible-Mushrooms-Illinois-Surrounding-Kitchen/dp/0252076435/ This will get you familiar with most of the wild species commonly collected for the table in this region. BTW, it is perfectly legal to collect mushrooms on DNR properties. https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/files/sp-MushroomsBrochure.pdf Regards, Bruce

I did a little hunting yesterday but came up empty. It's a little early yet, but wondering if anyone else has had more success (perhaps living further south). Bruce