Main Market Co-op produce manager Jill Herrera shows off a selection of morels on Tuesday at the downtown Spokane store. (SR photo: Tyler Tjomsland)

Chelsea Gilbert couldn’t have picked a better season to try her hand at morel mushroom hunting. She and her husband have been scooping up the prized delicacies by the bucket across North Idaho this spring. “We found this hillside covered with them,” said the Spirit Lake woman, whose in-laws have been picking morels for years. “We’ve got at least 100 pounds this season.” Others are having similar success. The mild Inland Northwest winter and early spring sunshine, coupled with moderate temperatures and rainfall, created optimal growing conditions for wild morels, which Washington State University researchers say are having a banner year/David Wasson, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

Question: Do you trust your knowledge of poisonous mushrooms enough to pick your own mushrooms?

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