Pretties on the way to the (unsuccessful) morel hunt

 Does this look and feel like Memorial Day weekend to you? No, no it does not.
Mighty chilly for a morel hunt, but let's go give it a go...

There are little streams coming off the mountains... too mucky to power through in the truck, so we hiked.
Nothing will deter us from our morels!!

 The forest floor is covered with so many pretty things. When one is bent over like an old person keeping an eye out for the morels it is easy to get distracted by all the sweet green details.

Supposedly, the fact that the violets and wild strawberries are blooming means the morels should be sprouting... no one bothered to tell the morels. 

An hour later, here is our bounty... 

 Even Chief looks unimpressed.

A little reading upon returning to warmth and a fire:

Some great tips on when (seasonally) to look for morels.

An amazing news story of giant morels. (Must click through for the pictures, really.)

More hunting tips.

We came to the conclusion that we're a little early this year (we've had good success at the end of May in the past...). Temperatures this year in the area, at this altitude (around the treeline in Joseph, Oregon), haven't been warm enough, consistently enough, to sprout the fungi sufficiently. So, we'll be back.

Between now and then, I'll be working with Chief on his hunting skills... he was a bit scattered, a little distracted by the nearby cattle, excited about streams and deer scat... lots of room for improvement from him, for sure!