One crisp autumn day Lucy and her parents decided to go mushrooming on Mount Arrowsmith. The weather conditions were perfect: it was damp and cool after a week of rain and fog. The family hiked along the hard-packed trail for a stretch, then veered off the path and headed deeper into the forested canopy. Lucy loved this family ritual of hunting and gathering wild mushrooms each year. She used a short sturdy branch as a walking stick and peered under fallen tree logs and layers of moss for the hidden treasures. Lucy’s mom always knew the best places to look for edible species and how to identify them. Lucy’s dad carried the basket with their harvest. It didn’t take long before they found two varieties: a handful of golden chanterelles poking out of the wet moss beside a large rock outcropping, and large red lobster mushrooms under the base of a Hemlock tree. Continue reading