Nature Walks Archives

One of the things I just love about the Oregon coast is the plethora of fungi. This past week, my daughter and I attended a Fall Mushrooms class at the interpretive center. It was a fabulous class whereby we learned to not only identify many of the local species but we also learned which are edible.

We spent the first couple of hours in the classroom engaged in a lecture format whereby the instructor began with an introduction to basic mycology. He walked through the life cycle of mushrooms and as well as the anatomy of a mature mushroom.

He also shared a slide presentation of the species we were likely to see. With each photograph, he discussed the species’ habitat preferences (in other words, where they were most likely to be found) and the typical time of year they were most prominent.

We then took a short break and proceeded down the trail for our foraging excursion. We didn’t find too many in the first half mile or so of the trail. Those we did find had begun to decay so we were beginning to get a little discouraged. Perhaps we were too late in the season?

We didn’t give in however, and our perseverance paid off. The group had begun to spread out and cheerful exclamations of “I found Chantrelles!” or “Wow! Look at the size of these!” could be heard in the near distance.

Here is a list of just a few of the species we found:

Hawk Wing
Chantrelle (illustrated above)
Velvet Bolete (illustrated above)
Beef Steak (pictured at top)
Pine Spike (illustrated above)
Oysters
False Chantrelle
Lobsters
Slippery Jack
Blue Polyphore
Coral
Toadstool (toxic)

Without doubt, the best mushroom text available is Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora. Published in 1986, it is an encyclopedia of mushroom facts and lore, lavishly illustrated with full-color photographs, literally everything you need to know about mushrooms, edible or not. Any botanical field guide should have is a good dichotomous key and Arora provides a very good key. The photos are excellent and the color plates are spectacular. This is a hefty volume, however, it is not the best for field identification.

The author has thereby released a field companion All That the Rain Promises and More: A Hip Pocket Guide to Western Mushrooms. This pocket-size book allows for quick and easy identification of common mushrooms. It also provides delicious recipes and stories of friends and funny anecdotes are sprinkled among hard facts.

Another favorite resource is the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms. Organized visually, this book groups all mushrooms by color and shape to make identification simple and accurate in the field. With more than 700 mushrooms detailed with color photographs and text, this is a great guide for identification in the field.

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We’ve always enjoyed taking part in the monthly challenges at Handbook of Nature Study. This month, our selected challenge was Make a List.

Nature study has always been a major component of our homeschool. I must admit that when the kids were younger, we ventured outside more regularly and they sketched in their nature journals every week.

Now that they are older and are more involved in extracurriculars as well as social activities, it takes a little more planning on my part to assure that we continue to venture out for leisurely walks.

Here in Northern California, we are in the midst of a drought. The water levels have been so low at Shasta Lake that old bridges and railroad tunnels that had been flooded when Shasta Dam was built in the 1940s are now visible again (see my post Feast or Famine: An Historical Nature Study). We have been praying for rain and these past couple of months, our prayers have been answered.

Winter Nature Walks

When I shared with our local homeschool community the date for our winter nature walk outing, their response was, “But what if it rains?”

In the words of Charlotte Mason, “The fact is, that rain, unless of the heaviest, does the children no harm at all if they are suitably clothed.”

I assured everyone that we would proceed forth in drizzle and chill – just come prepared in wellies and layers. The rains provide us with the opportunity to make wonderful observations .. to study erosion, sedimentation, plant adaptations, and of course weather patterns. Muddy or snow covered ground makes tracking animals so much easier.

Norwegian Proverb: Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlige klær.
[ There’s no bad weather, just bad clothing. ]

What I love best about these rainy nature study days is the abundance of fungi we are able to observe. We have seen so many fascinating fungi over the years; our favorite is Fly Agaric.

Nature nevers disappoints and this last month we observed several species we haven’t seen before – at least not here in NorCal. It can be a challenge to identify them sometimes, but that is the educational reward upon our return home.

Submitted to the December Handbook of Nature Study Outdoor Hour Challenge.

Nature Walks Archives - Eva Varga

Foraging for Mushrooms: A Wild Edibles Nature Study

Rainy Days and Fridays: Winter Nature Walks

Winter Nature Walks