Canonchet Brook and Hoxie Preserves
Posted By auntie on October 10, 2018
4.8 miles; Hopkinton, RI
a.k.a. “A Cavalcade of Mushrooms.” Nice if hot and sweaty walk on this small section of what is known as the Borderlands/Dark Skies trail system. Lotta mushrooms. I passed up a hen, and even found a couple black trumpets. At this rate I’ll be able to make my pasta by 2025…
Yellow Club Fungus, Clavulinopsis laeticolor
As I mentioned above, today’s hike was ALL about the fungus. I hadn’t been on the Nature Conservancy’s Canonchet Brook Preserve in quite a while, and I thought I’d try combining it with part of the Hoxie Preserve to get a different perspective on both properties. This was a fun hike!
Unknown Mushroom in a Tree Cavity
This guy and his little friends were growing inside a hollow tree cavity.
Lots of These Guys…
I believe the ’shrooms pictured above are Ringless Honey Mushrooms, and they are said to be very edible. But there are also some inedible look-alikes, so I didn’t harvest them. Not sure how to unmistakably ID them.
Non-Fungus Photo
Midway through this hike you come out a short stretch of gravel road which has several houses on it. This cheerful autumn display was on someone’s rock wall. There were dozens of small pumpkins and gourds.
Hen <3
And here’s the Hen of the Woods I passed up. I already got my 2018 hen, and the hubs is not a fan of foraged mushrooms of any kind. Probably because of one of my favorite “Dad Jokes:”
Gentleman walks into a hotel bar and sees a glamorous woman seated alone at the bar. He settles in beside her, buys her a drink, and starts talking. Come to find out she’s a 3-time widow. “Oh, my,” says the man. “How did your first husband die?” “Oh, it was very sad,” she replied. “He ate some poison mushrooms.” “Oh, that is too bad,” the man replied. “So what happened to your second husband?” “It was awful,” she answered. “He also ate some poison mushrooms.” The man was a little taken aback, but he couldn’t help asking, “And your third husband?” “He died of gunshot wounds,” she said. “Gunshot wounds!” the man exclaimed. “How did that happen??” The woman grimaced. “He wouldn’t eat the poison mushrooms.”
Badda-boom. Thank you very much, I’ll be here all week.
You can find out more about the Canonchet Brook Preserve from this Nature Conservancy Facebook page (scroll down; there is a trail map). And here is the trail map for the Hoxie preserve (pdf file). As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track.
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