If you’re in the Maryland-ish area and have experienced a number of Big Summer Maryland Rains in the last couple-few weeks, you’re probably also seeing a lot of mushrooms pop all over the place.
They sure are interesting to look at, but do be (ultra, ultra) careful before putting any in your mouth.
Years ago, I went mushroom foraging with some folks much more knowledgable than I was on the subject. They were knew were to go. What to look for. What to pick (and how to pick them) Et cetera.
The next day, I was at an event and talking to someone I didn’t know particularly well. I was telling him about my adventures with the mushroom foragers. How we cooked up the mushrooms we had collected, had a little potluck and hung out.
He looked at me with worry on his face, and told me was a doctor, said they’d had a young patient come into the hospital about a week earlier with acute liver problems. They learned he’d eaten some foraged mushrooms a day or two earlier. He died on the third day at the hospital. His liver had sorta ‘dissolved’ right before the medical team, less than a week earlier than I was talking with this doctor.
This doctor’s face when he told me this story sticks with me to this day. Hence, why I only eat, when foraging, The Foolproof Four.
