Hen of the Woods Mushrooms

This week has been much better than last week's constant predator attacks. Although the chickens have still be hiding from the "unknown predator", they come out of their hiding spots when I'm outside with them. I haven't discovered anymore missing hens, which makes my heart happier!

My radio station is still playing music 24/7 for the chickens in the coop. The radio has really helped keep "walking" predators from getting too close to the chicken run. Hearing human voices keeps the bad guys away. I've since found more radio stations that get reception in the coop. Now, instead of listening to jazzy music you hear in elevators, the girls are listening to the Good Ole Oldies. They are perching to songs like "I Will Survive" to get them through all these predator attacks.

My dog, Skye, and I are now taking daily walks throughout the woods to discover predator hideouts and scare off anything that shouldn't live close to the coop. Autumn has officially hit Michigan and I've enjoyed walking through the colorful leaves in the cooler temperatures. This week during my walks, I found some treasures in the woods that I wanted to share.

Giant Puffball Mushrooms

I found several Giant Puffball Mushrooms throughout the woods. They are HUGE!

At first, I thought my kids had left some balls outside that got blown into the thorny bushes around the trees. They look exactly like volleyballs lying in the woods. I was surprised that none of the animals have been munching on them.

I read that Giant Puffballs are edible, but only when they are younger and smaller.

The next treasure I found in the woods shocked me!

There is one huge tree I use as a chicken burial site on the farm. Everytime a chicken passes away or gets killed, I lay them to rest at a tree that is far, far, far away from my living chickens. I don't bury the birds, but instead, I allow nature to take care of their bodies. The tree is special to me because I've had to leave some of my favorite birds under its care. I think of them every time I walk by it.

When Skye and I walked by the "Burial Tree" this week, I noticed feathers scattered all around the tree. I hadn't taken any birds to the tree in about a month, so how did a dead chicken get placed near that particular tree?

Hen of the Woods Mushroom

As I slowly approached the tree dreading to find one of my girls, I noticed I wasn't looking at a chicken at all. The clump of feathers actually was a mushroom growing at the "Burial Tree".

Walking around the tree, I saw several huge clumps of the mushroom each the size of a basketball. From a distance, the mushrooms look like a hen, but up close, they look like lots of petals growing on top of each other.

They are beautiful!

Never seeing this type of mushroom before, I ran back to my house to figure out what kind it was. When I did a Google search, I found out that the name of this mushroom is called "Hen of the Woods".

This type of mushroom is edible, but I have to confess, I'm a bit hesitant to eat mushrooms and berries from the woods. Has anyone eaten the Hen of the Woods before? If so, I would love to hear how it tastes and how you prepared it.

To me, the best part of this fabulous discovery, is that these "hen mushrooms" decided to grow around my Burial Tree. I definitely think God had a hand in placing those mushrooms in just that perfect spot for me.

Thanks for reading my Country Squawk,

Kelly