I didn’t expect to find these in the sugar bush this early. They’re out a full month earlier than last year.

Here’s one good reason I hesitate to identify mushrooms. Last year I got it wrong when I identified these as Sarcoscypha coccinea. They looked identical to what my field guides had but the field guides were a bit lax. After doing a bit of on-line research this time I found out S. coccinea is a western species found only in the Pacific Northwest. Sarcoscypha dudleyi or Sarcoscypha austriaca are the eastern species. No way I can tell them apart though.

These are early spring mushrooms that grow on rotting hardwood. Around Canton, NY they seem to prefer wet spots and Maple.

Shame on the National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Mushrooms (North America) for leading me astray. Simon and Schuster’s Guide to Mushrooms was no better. Even my trusted Peterson let me down. Not one of my field guides mentioned the difference between them and their range.

They all look virtually the same. To see the difference between the species you need a microscope. So really, you can’t blame me for being wrong. It’s my field guides’ fault. But if you want to rub my nose in it you’re welcome to go to last year’s Scarlet Elf Caps post and leave a comment.

Thanks to the Mushroom Expert for setting me straight.

Something else came up early this year. The wild leeks – Allium tricoccum are sprouting. I didn’t make a note last year when they sprouted but I was harvesting the on the 1st of May.

Won’t be long before I can make garden fresh stone soup with some flavor.

ARRGH! the porcupine spotted me before I had a chance to get close enough for a photo. It would have been a great shot of it climbing the tree but by the time I got there it was already in it’s hidy hole.

Guess I have to call it quits on the winter porcupine count. They’ve started to roam from their winter lodgings and I can’t be sure who’s who any longer. I made it to 7 confirmed sightings this year. This is #3 or #4, it’s hard to tell since this maple had 2 dormers in it.