[beagleboy]

The first picture was on this date last year, the second was this year. Do you think that this is the reason the sight isn't very active. We had almost 2 pages of comments til now in pa. last year.

 

[shroomsearcher]

I guess so. It's hard to think seriously about mushrooms when you're freezing your butt off while chiseling the ice off your truck!

 

[beagleboy]

I guess so. It's hard to think seriously about mushrooms when you're freezing your butt off while chiseling the ice off your truck!

We had a few more inches of snow here in central Pa this morning. Its hard to even hike in the woods but it is good exercise fighting through it. Just have to try to be careful. Trout season is coming, then morels

 

[shroomsearcher]

I live in Ohio, but belong to a sportsman's club in PA that's lies right on the state line. We have quite a few lakes on the property that were old limestone quarries. So, they have water quality like champagne! The club stocks lots of trout. The evening before and the opening day are just gonzoland! People are camped all over the place, and it's a big party. All kind of bleary eyed dudes fishing the next morning.

I skip that, and head out about 2 weeks later. There are still plenty of trout, and there's no crowd! What I wish is that PA would open spring gobbler season at the same time. One year my buddy went out for the trout opener and called me. He said "Listen", and I heard a gobble! Turns out there were gobblers hollering all over the club! By the time gobbler season opens, they all shut up!

 

[beagleboy]

shroomsearcher, I here them gobbling quite often in trout season too. They seem to be fewer in my area the last few years, but last week I saw 9, all gobblers in a field near my house. Did you ever have any problems with them scratching up your morel patch. I only had it happen to me once with morels but had it happen many times with chanterelles. I think its probably because there are young of the year looking for insects in the summer.

 

[shroomsearcher]

That sounds reasonable. Morel season is done around here by the time the eggs have hatched. One year, I borrowed my buddy's rototiller to turn over my garden, loaded it back on my truck, and called him to see where he wanted it, his house or his Brothers. I look past the garden into my back yard, and there's a hen turkey! I live in the city of Youngstown! I ran in the house to get my camera, sneaked around the garage and the neighbors shed to stay hidden.

I leaned around and started snapping pics. I knew she could see me but she kept walking slowly. Then I saw 8 little poults in a line behind her! How cool is that?

 

[beagleboy]

A friend of mine lived in Youngstown. He had a boat that we fished for walleye in Lake Erie. I use to go out 2 or 3 times every summer.

 

[beagleboy]

Took the beagles for a walk today. Still have about a foot of snow in the woods. I think it will be later till the morels appear in my area this year.

 

[beagleboy]

I made a calzone today with the last of my 2020 morels. Time to get some more.

 

[gutterman]

Beagle boy that looks great!

 

[shroomsearcher]

Doggone it! Now I'm hungry. Again!

 

[redfred]

I made a calzone today with the last of my 2020 morels. Time to get some more. View attachment 36988 View attachment 36989 View attachment 36990

That looks mouth watering. I can’t think of a better incentive to go find some morels.. It looks like it will be a little more time till we see them and I blame Phil for that... good luck to all

 

[beagleboy]

Still have around 4-5 inches of snow in my yard today but a lot melted over the last few days. The south facing slopes are starting to get bare in my area. If accu weather is right with their long range forecast I look for the first ones to pop the last week in April in my area. Last year I found my first one April 9th.

 

[beagleboy]

Took a hike on a southern slope today and had a lot of bare ground. Also there were skunk cabbage just starting in a hollow along a spring seep.

 

[River Birch Run]

Our snow here has mostly melted off in OH. Going out this weekend to test soil and shed hunt.

 

[shroomsearcher]

Ran into a link on another post with the "degree day" map on it. Apparently a lot of hunters look at this, and the magic number is 1100 degree days. Right now, this entire regions of the country is sitting at 1 degree day. We have a ways to go!

 

[beagleboy]

Ran into a link on another post with the "degree day" map on it. Apparently a lot of hunters look at this, and the magic number is 1100 degree days. Right now, this entire regions of the country is sitting at 1 degree day. We have a ways to go!

I checked the degree days for march 8 last year and march 8 this year based on 32 degrees and the difference was staggering. last year in my area it was 372 and this year it is 86. When i found my first one last year the degree day were only around 800 so i am going to check it this year at the same spot.

 

[beagleboy]

Took a hike yesterday to get a little exercise and look for sheds. I saw a few signs of spring and an elm tree that looks prime. Maple sap is running. Another month and a half.

 

[shroomsearcher]

Yeah, I noticed the sap bags are hanging in a nearby sugar bush in a local metro park. Local neighborhood association looking through park archives discovered that it had been planted years ago as a demonstration project for syrup making. The project never got off the ground, so they talked the park board into it. They went to Chardon, OH (big maple syrup area) and found a used sap cooker. The park district built them a sugar shack to house it, and supplies them with wood to fire it.

It's all volunteer work, and I cruise by frequently to see it they're hauling buckets. I'll stop and help. They sell it at the park garden center with the money going to the park. It's great syrup!

 

[beagleboy]

Yeah, I noticed the sap bags are hanging in a nearby sugar bush in a local metro park. Local neighborhood association looking through park archives discovered that it had been planted years ago as a demonstration project for syrup making. The project never got off the ground, so they talked the park board into it. They went to Chardon, OH (big maple syrup area) and found a used sap cooker. The park district built them a sugar shack to house it, and supplies them with wood to fire it.

It's all volunteer work, and I cruise by frequently to see it they're hauling buckets. I'll stop and help. They sell it at the park garden center with the money going to the park. It's great syrup!

In the 60's and 70's I helped my uncle collect and cook the sap on his farm. He cooked it down to syrup and also candy, it took a lot of sap to make candy. We cooked it down in big butcher kettles outdoors and it had a smoke flavor that a lot of us really liked.