Mushrooms that is.

Oysters like elms in our neck of the woods.

While we were out cutting some dead wood, I noticed the above beauties. Whether due to the wet year (we are 8" above normal) or the warm autumn, we have oyster mushrooms in our woods. I checked a number of sources, cross checked any possible other poisonous look-alikes, and then took a spore print.

Definitive lilac print (I couldn't get good color in the photo...but it was lilac!).

I ate one or two slivers (temptation overtook me) and when nothing untoward occurred, we had them in the spaghetti sauce. In meatballs and gravy. In stir-fried vegetables. In chicken soup. They dried well and rehydrated marvelously.

This made about three and a half quarts, dried.

We will now keep our eyes open after first frost, which is closing season for most other wild edibles.