It’s time for morel mushrooms and they are popping up all over Northern Michigan!
When we have warm days and nights with some rain, morel mushrooms start to grow.
Over the weekend, one Leelanau County family collected 6.5 pounds of the sacred mushroom.
Wednesday morning, they took 9&10’s Caroline Powers and photojournalist Jeremy Erickson to this secret spot to see what they could find.
“Oh there’s two down here. There’s three, and there’s a tiny little one with it.”
For the Garvin’s, morel mushroom hunting is a family tradition that dates back more than 37 years.
“Well where we go, my father-in-law used to find them on a little bank,” says Joan Garvin. “He had passed in the last eight years I think, so I’m saying that he distributed the rest of them all over and he watches us pick them, and as we pass one up I can just hear him saying, hey you missed one!”
On Sunday, the family set out on their daily hunt.
“Every step we took we would find mushrooms upon mushrooms,” says Brittany Garvin. “We even got on our hands and knees and kinda looked out and you could just see they were everywhere.”
An hour and a half later, they were carrying home 6.5 pounds of morel mushrooms!
“Would you say you hit the jackpot that day?”
“Yeah, and then we gave them all away,” says Brittany.
Wednesday, they drove us out to their secret spot.
“It’s just the fun of getting out and walking,” says Joan.
“And seeing how many we can find,” Brittany says.
The Garvin’s don’t keep the morels all to themselves. They make sure to share the wealth with friends.
“Just to see their face. They’re happy and excited. People love them,” says Joan.
Happy morel mushroom hunting!
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