Fruits at my dad's home (my childhood home)

When Eli and I last visited my family in Illinois, it was great to see Eli exploring my dad's yard for fruit. It was a magical place to run around when I was a small child. I explore it now, but with much added height since I was Eli's age. When I was little, I remember the blackberries canes and foliage being so thick that I would hide in them during hide and seek (they are a thorn-less variety). Though I may try to make such attempts I am sure parts of my 6'2" frame will remain visible. There are an amazing amount of species of different foods on one town lot, that feels huge to a little one. With my change of vantage point I am pretty impressed with how much he has fit into a small space, while continuing to add more.

When I lived there as a child, we had 5-7 different fruit trees, grapes, gooseberries, black berries, strawberries, red raspberries, and black raspberries. In the last few years, my dad has added elderberries, blueberries, a few more grape varieties, more cherry trees, more strawberries, dewberries, almonds, apricots, and some others as well. His yellow maple fell last month, so while losing shade on the south-side of the house he did gain some more space for food bearing bushes and trees. We're planning on getting some juneberry cutting off a very old bush in my aunts yard on my next visit.

While we were visiting last time we helped plant some more asparagus and more red raspberries that my dad had ordered. Some trumpeter vine had gotten out of hand and started taking down his raspberries. The golden rod had overpowered a lot of the asparagus.

Seeing his place and thinking of my grandiose dreams of what I would like to accomplish with land leaves me anxious to get started.

 Blackberries and gooseberries starting to come on during our last visit.

 Eli and I at a lot of plums while we were there.

Les chanterelles sont arrivées!

The last really good chanterelle year in Indiana was 2009. That year Eli and I filled a burlap coffee bag with chanterelles in about two hours. We also found numerous black trumpets at the same time. Indiana has been in a drought since 2005. The years since 2009 have been very very dry, while the air has been its usual 90% humidity. With the ample rain fall this year, the chanterelles have been out!

Yesterday, Eli and I were able to fill a shopping bag. I had been out a number of times previously and found a decent number. The previous times were not accompanied by the wasp stings that yesterday brought though. We would have filled a number of bags yesterday due to the profusion of mushrooms out, but had to cut it off after about an hour. I got attacked by some wasps and ended up with about fifty stings. I'm not allergic, so I was just in pain and felt a little wonky in my head. I'm hoping to go out some more this week.

If going to look for chanterelles, you should look through a field guide or two to acquaint yourself with Jack-O-Lantern mushrooms. I have known others who ended up harvesting the bioluminescent mushroom along with chanterelles. Don't harvest chanterelles off of wood! Unless vomit and diarrhea are your thing.

Keep an eye out for Black Trumpets when out. They are also a chanterelle but are black and grey. They are pretty tasty too, especially after having been dried. 

I've been finding the best patches on the north side of a well forested hill in Bloomington. Like in the picture below...

Eli was finding a good number of them. 

We've been eating them with our meals and have started drying some as well.