Yes, it is the start of the wild mushroom season, a little later then the continental Europe, due to different climate.
Only those of you who have ever been picking wild mushrooms will understand the excitement one mushroom can cause! Because where there is one, there bound to be others, and this is when you forget time and your eyes don't leave the ground, because you can't go home with just one mushroom!
And if you happen to meet another mushroom "hunter", you try to hide what is in your bag/basket and pretend you are there just for the walk and they do the same, because this is a silent competition! But you can always tell, the slow walk, eyes to the ground...
Luckily, there are not so many people in England who know enough about mushrooms and go to look for them. Yes, you need to know what you are picking, there are many nasty mushroom which can make you very, very ill. I was trained in my childhood by the best, my dad and my uncle, who knew the best places to look and jealously guarded their secret! But even I need to consult the book sometimes and I don't pick what I am not sure about. We did not do very well in the last few years, the weather was never right, but it looks like this year at last we are lucky again.
So, this was the results of our morning walk. Hopefully, this is just a start.
Some ended up in our breakfast that morning, the rest is drying, to be stored, ready for winter soups and stews.
I have also picked some roses for drying, to be mixed with the lavender I dried earlier.
And, just for change, little cakes with plums, cinnamon and ground poppy seeds. Plums again! No, this is not the last of them!
