Even though Cameron, to my knowledge, has never eaten a mushroom and liked it, he totally enjoyed the Piedmont Environmental Council Mushroom Hike this morning. Held at Sky Meadows State Park, just down the road, the hike included some of our friends from last month’s Raptor Hike, including Kim Winter of PEC and Scott LaRochelle, our tour guide and mushroom aficionado.

To my surprise, Cam proved to be the best mushroom finder of the day, and he had a blast leading everyone to various types. After Scott identified the fungus, we discussed its attributes, identifying features and gastronomic qualities. Although we didn’t stumble upon any coveted morels  (at least Scott didn’t mention seeing any!), we discovered many new types of edible mushrooms that we could add to our plates. Cam was so enthused by our morning hike, that he persuaded me to take another on our mountain this afternoon, and we found even more types. We decided not to bring any home, however, as without Scott we weren’t certain of their edibility factor. Nevertheless, we had fun discovering them. Maybe next time, after studying the literature a bit closer, we’ll bring some home for the frying pan and Cam will find mushrooms as tasty as chicken tenders. Well, we can always hope…