Chicken of the Woods

Well its been a hot, dry summer and consequently not much to write about. But finally we had *some* rain here in central NY (not a lot) so I took a walk in the woods to see what I could find...

This is a chicken of the woods that fruits on a log not too far from my house. Last year I had a large fruiting in early July I believe. This year it finally showed up on Sept 7th, rather late in the year for this mushroom.

I left it there for now. We're supposed to get some rain tomorrow but if we don't I'm going to try and pour water on it to get it to grow. I'll let you know how it goes.

btw...I know Chicken of the Woods isn't a choice edible but I happen to think its pretty tasty if you harvest it while its still young. If it grows much beyond the size of your hand then it gets woody and loses its flavor. If you're going to eat an older Chicken of the Woods then save the outer 2-3 inches and toss the rest.