Big puffball and hen of the woods inspire an ode to mushrooms and life

Paul Yambrovich found his biggest puffball and hen of the woods, then commemorated the experience.

By Dale Bowman

Paul Yambrovich demonstrates the size of his biggest puffball.

Paul Yambrovich emailed. “I’m having a good fall mushroom season. Finding lots of hen of the woods and the largest puffball that I have ever seen. Shared some with friends who are into nature and wild things! Was great to see them and share the bounty of this wonderful planet we live on!”

That’s what I call capturing the essence of foraging for wild mushrooms.

Also I wonder what this extended dry spell will do to wild mushrooms, as will the coming frost.

Mushroom of the Week, the celebration of mushrooms and their stories (the stories matter, as this one shows) around Chicago outdoors, runs sporadically, generally in the fall, in the paper Sun-Times. The online posting here at chicago.suntimes.com/outdoorsgoes up at varied days of the week, depending on what is going on in the wide world of the outdoors.

To make submissions, email (BowmanOutside@gmail.com) or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).

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