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It's Been Three Mushroom Seasons Since Bobby Passed Away. The Mushroom Season Before He Passed Away He Shared His Favorite Spot With Me. Very Few People Disclose Such Vital Information. He Showed Me This Mighty Elm Tree That Was Rather Tricky To Get To. He Had Been Going To This Spot For A Few Years. He Told Me He Always Found Mushrooms There Each And Every Year. One Year After His Find He Ran Across Another Gentleman Walking Close By. In Their Exchange of Greetings Bobby Was Told By This Gentleman He Also Hunts Near That Tree. So Basically It Was A Matter Of Who Get's There First. He Was Right By Saying That. Even Though I Have Visited This Tree Numerous Times In The Years Of 2011 & 2012. No Mushrooms Near This Tree. Yesterday I Visited The Tree For The Second Time This Season. It Was As If Bobby Was Shining The Sunlight Upon Four Mushrooms Near What I Will Always Refer To As Bobby's Tree. The Biggest Grin Came Across My Face As I Plucked The Mushrooms From The Ground. I Walked Around For Another 30 Minutes Or So And Found No More. If Anything It Was A Proud Moment That I Finally Found These Mushrooms By "His" Tree. If That's All I Find This Year It's Ok With Me. However After Finding Them It Gave Me A Moment To Reflect On How Much We Enjoyed The Companionship Each Year In The Woods.
I Would Like To Think Bobby And I Were A Lot Alike. I Don't Think He Would Want Me To Stop Going Mushroom Hunting Just Because He Is No Longer With Us. I Think It's Long Over Due That I Take My Grandson With Me And Teach Him What I Know About Mushroom Hunting. Hopefully He Can Pass On To His Son And Grandson The Love Of Mushroom Hunting.
So Does The Title Of This Blog Confuse You? Let Me Explain. I Was Taught To Have The Mushrooms Soak Overnight In Saltwater To Draw The Bugs Out. So Basically I Slice The Mushrooms In Half Making 8 Pieces To Be Soaked Then Fried. Everyone Seems To Have Their Way Of Preparing Them To Eat. I Like To Enjoy The True Taste Of The Mushroom So I Prefer To Lightly Flour Them And Fry Them In A Skillet. I Will Admit I Am Not Fond Of Cooking. This Afternoon I Asked My Vegetarian Daughter If She Would Fry These 8 Pieces Of Mushrooms. She Understood Why They Were Important To Me. I Told Her I Would Split Them With Her. I Thought Maybe Once I Got The Taste Of The Mushroom I Would Go Out Again In Search For More. We Have Been Getting A Lot Of Rain Recently And The Grass Has Been Growing A Lot And With The Additional Weight I Had Put On Has Really Slowed Me Down In The Woods. Yet I Was Certain Just The Taste Of These Long Sought For Mushrooms Would Encourage Me To Find Even More Before The Season Ends.
I Found Myself Excited To Eat These Mushrooms. She Brought Them To Me And Explained She Didn't Care For How They Turned Out So She offered Her Share To Me. I Thought In My Mind, How Can You Not Enjoy The Taste Of This Eloquent Fungi? She Handed Them To Me On A Saucer. I Asked Her Where The Fork Was And She Said I Didn't Need One. I Picked Up A Mushroom And It Was As Stiff As A Board. I Took A Taste Of It And The Taste Was Unexplainable. I Immediately Placed The Uneaten Part Back On The Saucer And Told Her I Didn't Like It Either. This Is When She Admitted To Me That She Accidently Dipped The Mushrooms In Powdered Sugar. There Was Simply No Reason To Be Upset About It. I Achieved In Finding The Mushrooms In Bobby's Special Place. That Was The Most Important To Me.
After The Find Gave Me Reason To Continue The Family Tradition In Hunting The Morel Mushroom. I Always Joked About Why I Enjoyed Taking Bobby When He Was Just A Young Boy. Being Short When He Was Young, He Was Closer To The Ground. I Can Still Remember Walking Out Of The Woods With Bobby Riding On My Shoulders Asking If We Were lost. I Assured Him We Were Not Even Though We Were.
Sugar, Flour? The Overall Picture Is I Love My Daughter More Than The Mushroom. Did I Just Say That? Yes I Did. Bless Her Heart.
Memories Are A Gift From God. We Need To Keep Making Them So Others Can Enjoy Them In The Years Ahead.
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