After visiting my usual spots this weekend I can safely claim that this will be an exceptional year for the Reishi (Ganoderma tsugae). Every fallen hemlock was literally full of Reishi mushrooms.

The sad part is, if the previous years are any indication, almost every single one will be harvested.

The beginning of June is usually marked with the appearance of gorgeous and abundant (at least in my area of South-Western Ontario) Platterfull Mushroom ( Megacolybia rodmani f. murina).  There is very checkered information on the edibility of the whole Megacolybia genus. Every time I see this beautiful, meaty mushroom, a part of me wants to try it, but to this day I did not gather enough courage. As a side note, the Megacolybia platyphilla, described as edible, is not found in North America

This year I noticed a significant number of strangely distorted mushrooms growing in the same habitat Platterfull mushroom is expected. My guess is that something attacks original growth and makes it distorted and disfigured.

The first showing of Umbrella Polypore (Polyporus umbellatus) came right on time and I did locate several specimens in various stages of development. Good edible and medicinal mushroom.

The Crown Corals (Artomyces pyxidatus) is starting to appear, but not in any significant quantities. They are quite a good edible and easy to preserve. The only drawback is the cleaning part.

Walking through the woods, Linda and I unintentionally spooked a very young baby deer. I snapped only one picture and retreated in hope that nothing will happen to the beautiful creature.