I hunted morels with some determination this spring and did manage to find some. I prefer to hunt close to home, so I checked out a combination of spots where I had found morels previously and a few nearby parcels of promising-looking habitat that I scouted out last winter. Fortunately I enjoy being out in the woods, otherwise I would have to rank the amount of effort per morel found as prohibitively high. Most of the woods nearby are predominantly oak, and oak forest just doesn't seem to make very good morel habitat. Attached is one of my favorite morel photos from this spring. I have noted a number of times in the past how difficult it can be to spot morels (maybe it's just me?) amongst the leaf litter in the shaded woods. In the case of the attached photo, if I stare at the mushroom for a few moments I still see the cream colored stem. But the texture, coloration, and shading of the cap allow it to seemingly disappear into the background. Enjoy. Dave
