River Woes

My husband's buddy and Professional Guide Fisherman

called me on Tuesday night to see if I still wanted 

to go mushroom hunting!!

(I've been bugging him for a few years 

to take me to his secret mushroom places)

so, you can imagine my excitement when he called!!

I quickly cleared my schedule of : accounts payable and blogging

and said HECK YAH!!!

I met up with him and some other folks

that have been on the mushroom hunt before,

and off we went to the river....

now, from here on out I can't give out any secrets,

so the river shall remain nameless and 

the characters will remain anonymous 

to protect the highly guarded location

of yes, you guessed it, Morel Mushrooms!

I had my gear all ready....

sack, knife, water, toilet paper, camera, and bug spray

(yep, all necessary equipment on a mushroom hunt)

and then we got to the dock....

Oh my heart sank about as deep as a toad in the bottom 

of this muddy river!

the river level is so low, the place that they usually 

dock was about a 3 foot drop off into the shallow water...

But, at that point

I had no idea of the sheer will and determination

of the serious mushroom hunters I was accompanying!!

The owner of the boat looked at the predicament

and said "No Problem", and started backing up the trailer....

the wheels went off the edge...

this is when I closed my eyes.....

They gave it a shove....

Just like that our boat was launched!

(never mind that cloud of mud, that's just 

the propeller hitting bottom)

Now we have to load 6 people!

(are you laughing here?)

this is about the time I realized it takes

a certain amount of insanity to be a mushroom hunter!

Again the boat owner, driver, skipper, (crazy guy)

said "Get In!"

and we did.

Up the river we went heading for the secret spots that were 

marked from previous years...

the guys were going to do some fishing while

us girls went hunting...

I was warned to not get lost,

as it is very forested and easy to lose your self...

The girls headed into the brush like

I've seen wild pheasants do...

like hungry huntresses they were eager

to find some mushrooms!!

They told me what to look for,

and how they look,

crouching down sometimes you see them better

(oops, I didn't tell you that)

We looked high and low,

but what we didn't expect was the 

change of terrain from last year's flooding!!

We would literally start sinking in the ground

if we stayed in one place long enough!

It was solid mud everywhere we turned with

little or no new growth anywhere!!

you could see the water line of the soaked trees

above our heads!!

(I've highlighted the waterline in orange here)

Much to our dismay, there were no Morels anywhere!

We loaded and unloaded that boat 3 different times and places

and NO Morels anywhere!!

My boots were covered in mud, heck my ankles were covered in mud,

and not one Morel to be had!!

But, the day was not a total loss...

the guys had a really good day catching catfish!

Every time they cast out, a fish would bite within a few minutes...

I got some really good photography-time in...

and nature came out to play with me....

we heard woodpeckers, bluejays, and geese....

got to see ducks, pelicans, and seagulls...

I just about stepped on a huge bull snake

(No, I freaked out and did not get a picture)

and on the boat ride back

there were two beavers on this log,

only one sat there and posed for me!

It was a great day and a great hunt...

any day spent fishing is a day worth while!

More pictures to come tomorrow,

for Farm Fresh Friday...

See you tomorrow!