You may or may not have noticed but I took a break from posting to Poetry Friday last month. We moved in June, were settling in during July, and I started writing on Medium in August. I needed some change and I got it.
But one of the most fantastic things I did in August was to learn about fungi. Being an environmental educator, I know a lot about certain species or biomes. But, I never knew a lot about mushrooms until this month! We found almost twenty different varieties on our two-acre wooded parcel on the edge of a lake in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.
I thought I was in heaven. I love to learn new things and set about learning how to name all the different varieties of fungi we found, as well as identify their distinguishing features and edibility. Books were borrowed from the library and dusted off my reference bookshelf at home.
To fully round out my experience, I thought I’d try to write some poems to go with the fungi I found. This is something I would encourage my students to do if I had a group of writers or was still holding the after-school garden club. I hope you enjoy the whimsy and excitement I found foraging this month!
What Am I? Deep Orange Lots of curves No stem Firm to the touch Growing Out of the ground An earthy smell Emanating from you Or is it the soil From where you Came? Quickly arising In a spot that Held nothing there Yesterday What Am I? I am a Lobster Mushroom. Will you eat me or let me be? © Draft, Carol Labuzzetta, 2022
Bear’s Head Tooth Looking up from the ground, There you were. White spikes on a Brown log In the forest Where I now live But you’ve been here Before I just missed you Because I never looked Never walked through The leaves Covering the ground Dodging the twigs Jumping over stumps Poking the puffballs Once I looked up, You were there, Now you are forever fixed In my mind And my belly! © Draft, Carol Labuzzetta, 2022
These are some of the mushroom varieties we found on our property in Northern Wisconsin during August! I’m still learning the identities of some! And the only one I was willing to eat was the Bear’s Head Tooth fungi. We knew that was edible from our reading and research. One should never eat a wild mushroom unless 100% sure of what type it is. There are many look-alikes that make it chancy to eat any mushroom unless you’ve learned a lot about what they are. Some can make you sick or even cause death. All photos © Carol Labuzzetta, 2022.
MUSHROOMS A rainy August Fills the forest With treats for the poorest And us acting as cataloguists All colors and sizes Pop up from the earth A truly spontaneous birth Giving us daily surprises Bear’s Head was yummy It’s the only one I tried In butter with garlic, we fried Then ate, somewhat gummy. Some have gills Others grow pores You pick yours Mine are over the hills What fun was had As we foraged in the forest The birds sang and chorused Our finds made us glad © Draft Carol Labuzzetta, 2022 Today is Poetry Friday. Our host this week is Linda at Teacher Dance. Please visit her website for more great poetry and links to other participants. Thanks for hosting Linda!
The Apples in My Orchard 
Fungi are amazing! Have you seen the film on netflix called Fantastic Fungi? So beautiful, with a lot of time-lapse footage! Thanks, too, for the photos, esp. the one with your hand to reference size. I am amazed at the size of some fungi. Thank you for sharing!
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Hi Irene! Thanks for commenting on my post. Yes, I seen the Fanastic Fungi show. Very cool! I am an avid photographer and love captuing nature in all its glory! I’m glad you liked the post!
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Oh, Carol, amazing fungi is right! I love that you’ve ventured into this knowledge & found so many around your new home. I can read your excitement about each. We had a cabin in the Rockies a long while ago & loved finding the fungi there, too. Maybe a book is in the future? Thanks for sharing so much. I love that “Bear’s Head Tooth” – Wow!
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Hi, Linda! Thanks again for hosting! I have been very excited about all these fungi finds! I’m so glad that came through in the post! I would love, love, love to work on some kind of book about fungi! The next book project I do, I plan to definitely incorporate some of my photography! Thanks for reading and for the comments!
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Wow! What amazing photos and poem to go with. I’d be a little nervous to eat anything not vetted by my local grocery store. But, if you know what you’re doing I’ll bet you get a fantastic feast. Enjoy your new digs!
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Hi Linda! Thanks for your comments! I have never eaten a foraged mushroom before and always counselled my garden students to do the same (the only safe mushroom is one from a grocery store). But, that said, the one I ate had no poisonous look alikes in north american and is know as the crabmeat of the forest! I love crab so I had to try! (I don’t think it really had that flavor but I only had a very small amount). My son and his partner also tried it. We were safe but I’m not gung ho to try more! LOL.
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My son has gotten me interested in fungi, and he would LOVE to see all the gorgeous varieties you have up there. Your photos are fab and your Bear Teeth poem is brave in more ways than one. Yum! You should put your medium link up here so we can find you!
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Hi Heidi! I did the foraging with my son (28 tomorrow) and it was fun for both of us. We are like minded souls. I appreciate your commenting on the post! My medium link is: https://carollabuzzetta.medium.com/ Thanks for your interest in that.
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So amazing! I love your photos and poems. I’m obsessed with fungi and lichen. So fascinating.
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Hi Marcie! Thank you for stopping by! They are very fascinating species, IMHO. I love learning about them! I’m interested to know which photo/poem was your favorite? Thanks, again!
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Carol! What a trove to find in your own backyard! And so large! These would most certainly inspire me. My only find this year was regurgitated mushrooms that my puppy ingested – not the good kind 😦 But someday I want to go fungi hunting!
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Hi Patricia! Congratulations on having your poem voted into the newest Pomelo anthology book! I love how you have “is a published poet!” after your name! (I might have to steal that idea!) 🙂 Anyway, regarding my post – I have not foraged a lot but we were so rewarded for our time in the forest last month! I do worry about our yellow lab (as far as eating things) so I am constantly canvassing for the poisonous fungi and get rid of them promptly if I see any. I enjoyed doing this with my son. Three years ago I organized a foraging event (I was an EE manager for a land trust) and the local university’s mycology group did a fanstastic job educating us all on site! Look for something like that if you want to hunt with a fun and educational group in your area! (I hope you don’t mind the suggestion.) Thanks for stopping by!
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What a wonder you’ve discovered! And hooray for all the changes you sought and found!
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Thank you Mary Lee. It was a lot of fun to forage right on our own land! We were certainly lucky this year! Right time – right place! Thanks for reading and commenting.
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Carol, the fungi you found are so varied and beautiful in the summer colors. I imagine the trip to the forest was exciting. Categorizing all the varied types is a research project in itself but such gains were achieved, such as the poetry you added.
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Hi Carol, Thank you for your comments. The best part abotu thiese forest finds is that torest is now my yard… we do not have a large lawn anymore, and beyong the small amount of grass we do have are two acres of forest. It is wonderful to step into a place so inspiring!
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