Will the Mushrooms be up early?

Our warm winter and apparent early spring here in north Missouri will probably have some effect on Mother Nature’s cycle for both animals and plants. It’s too early to tell how this will “shake out”, but the real question now is “Will mushrooms (morels) be up early this year?” Before you read any further, I can tell you I don’t have an answer.

In a “normal” year (lately it seems we don’t have many of those) morels respond by poking through the ground sometime around mid-April to mid-May, basically whenever a combination of spring rains and warm weather make the soil wet and warm. With our recent weather producing daytime temperatures as high as they usually are in mid to late April, I guess it’s possible that morels may be tricked into behaving now as they normally would later on.

It would seem weird, but maybe outdoor persons who enjoy hunting mushrooms and enjoy eating them even more maybe ought to start making some trips to their favorite mushroom woods to see if they can find a few morels. I can’t remember anyone ever telling me about finding mushrooms in March, but that’s ever going to happen this year might be the time.

This unseasonable weather appears to have fooled the wild turkeys into thinking it’s later than it really is as I’ve received numerous reports from area outdoorsmen and women of hearing turkeys gobble and seeing them strut. I’m aware that turkeys gobble and strut occasionally at any time of the year, but the behavior they’re describing to me is what you usually expect to see and hear after the 1st of April.

I usually start my turkey scouting after April 1, but this year I think I’ll start right after the local turkey banquet, which is coming up this Saturday evening, March 24.

Missouri’s youth turkey season is earlier than usual this year, March 31, because of Easter falling on what would have been its usual date, and persons taking a youngster hunting should really get their scouting done pretty quickly. If the turkeys are “tuned up” early like I think they might be, the young hunters may hit a gobbling peak and have some great turkey action.
 
Recipes for Mushrooms with Bill & Sheila
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