Every day we harvest a little something outside our door. Jeff harvests greens many mornings to make raw vegetable juices. And we harvest greens for meals, and herbs to eat fresh and to dry. But the harvests that have been causing the most excitement around the Wilson household lately, have been mushrooms! 

 We got a load of woodchips a few years back (for free, thanks to the power company) and put them on pathways and used some for mulching. Well, mushrooms love those chips and the conditions have been just right, because Wine Caps a.k.a. Garden Giants (Stropharia rugosa-annulata) have been popping up all over the place. Jeff and Bracken started a daily ritual of mushroom searching in the yard. They got to know all the good spots where they grow (and Jeff’s been keeping the chips watered to encourage them.) After treasure hunting, they would come inside and show me their finds. 

Maybe one. Maybe two. Maybe just a tiny little thing. But always exciting. 

On my walks with Bracken around the yard, he’s been pulling my hand and leading me to the mushroom spots. I would look around and not see a thing, but Bracken would! He’d pick some mushrooms and then holler for his dada to show him what he found. Both Jeff and I have been so amazed at how good he is at finding mushrooms. If Jeff is with him, Bracken wants to come show me his finds and if I’m with him, he wants to come show them to Jeff. He proudly hands them to us and beams over our enthusiasm.

Many nights those mushrooms from our yard have been making their way into our scrambled egg meals. Bracken’s already bringing food to the table and we’re loving it!