Sometimes life is more than funny. Sometimes your paths cross with people and the more time you spend with them the more you realize just how connected you are. I had such an experience recently. I was invited to join a Facebook page that deals with mushrooms and local mushroom pickers. I quickly contacted the creator of the page and the trip down memory lane started automatically.
His last named rang a bell. Dan Peck of Wyoming is the driving force and organizer of “NEPA Mushroom Hunters” on Facebook. Dan and I spoke several times on the phone before agreeing to meet for a mushroom picking adventure. We met in a parking lot off of route 92 in Harding. He was waiting for us with his daughter Rylee. He then asked us to follow him to an undisclosed location. This is not unusual at all when dealing with true fungi gatherers. They treat their mushroom locations as if it were a combination to a safe filled with gold bars. It was a short ride to a driveway and a huge manicured lawn with an occasional clump of pine trees and oak trees. It wasn’t until I looked at a few older structures on the property that I connected the name, Peck, with the location.
It turns out that I had been on this property more than thirty-five years ago picking mushrooms with my father. Let’s call it a small world but also joining us on this day trip was Bill Peck and his son. Bill Peck graduated with my brother and we talked all about Wyoming Area High School as we cut a half of a basket of podpicki from the ground. The property itself has changed quite a bit with a few homes, garages and swimming pools but it was obviously still fertile enough for mushroom growth. It was in deed the Peck family property and my father knew Dan’s father and other older members of the family. I must apologize to Dan if he feels like I gave away his mushroom spot but I thought it was a story worth sharing.
The hobby of mushroom picking is indeed one of tradition and habit. Every time we do a story about mushrooming on Pennsylvania Outdoor Life people respond with questions and a desire to learn the hobby. Dan wants to make it clear that his Facebook page is not used instead of a field guide. In fact Dan carries a field guide with him and he is an experienced picker. Here is his mission straight from the Facebook Page.
This FB page is made for all who love to hunt mushrooms, and also learn more about hunting, or for our first timers! This can be used as relaxing. Walks in the woods can yield a bag or so of mushrooms. Finding them by surprise is very exciting.
This FB page is in no way shape or form informing anyone to just pick and eat any mushrooms. This page is sharing information from experienced mushroom hunter’s experiences in the woods. They will post pictures, give tips, talk about their finds, and try to guide a beginner to get out have fun and learn all the types of mushrooms in the woods! A mushroom hunter will always carry a field guide.
I spent the better part of a morning with the Peck family and I must say they do it right. They walk slowly, talk a lot and pick mushrooms. It was a pleasant adventure to say the least. If you would like to become part of the local mushroom society, get on Facebook and go to “NEPA Mushroom Hunters” and click on that you like it. It is interesting to read about other people’s success in the field. We will have a complete story about my adventure with the Peck family tonight at 6:30 on Pennsylvania Outdoor Life.
Let’s Go Deer Hunting
The archery season is in full swing and yesterday marked the beginning of a weeklong early muzzleloader season. It runs from yesterday, October 13, to next Saturday, October 20. To participate in the early muzzleloader season, hunters must have a general hunting license, muzzleloader stamp and a valid antlerless deer license or Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) antlerless deer permit. Hunters may use in-line, percussion and flintlock muzzleloaders during the early muzzleloader season. They also may use scopes, peep-sights and other lawful sighting devices on muzzleloaders during the October hunt.
The special firearms season for junior, senior, active duty military and certain disabled hunters begins this Thursday, October 18, and runs until Saturday, October 20. To participate in the special firearms antlerless season, hunters must have a general hunting license and a valid antlerless deer license, and qualify in one of the following license categories: resident junior or senior license holders; nonresident junior license holder; nonresident adult license holders age 65 or older; hold a disabled person permit to use a vehicle as a blind; be residents who are serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces; or qualify for license and fee exceptions under section 2706.The early small game seasons for squirrels and grouse also opens on Saturday 20, so there are plenty of hunting opportunities.
Celebrating the Environment
The Northeast Pennsylvania Environmental Partnership is a coalition of environmentally minded businesses, agencies and organizations. It includes Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Environmental Council – Northeast Office, PPL Corporation, Procter & Gamble Paper Products Company, and Wilkes University. Each year a committee collects nominees for special awards. They present the winners of these awards at an annual dinner,“ An Evening for Pennsylvania’s Environment” The Twenty-second Annual Environmental Partnership Awards Dinner will be held on Thursday, October 25, 2012at 5:00pm at the Woodlands Inn & Resort. Seven (7) recipients of the Environmental Partnership Award and the Thomas P. Shelburne Environmental Leadership Award Recipient and the First Annual Emerging Environmental Leader Award will be honored.
The Awards are open to any group, individual, company, program, or organization located in Northeastern Pennsylvania - or whose work has had a positive impact on the environment of the Northeastern Pennsylvania community of the following counties: Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montour, Northumberland, Northampton, Pike, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne & Wyoming. The awards are already chosen for this year but it is never too late to get involved. You can help celebrate the environment by attending the banquet. For more information call the Pennsylvania Environmental Council at 570-718-6507.
Be sure to watch Pennsylvania outdoor Life tonight at 6:30. We have more on our mushroom picking local connection and we will take you on a crossbow deer hunt.
