Received from Bill in Oregon: Subject: Re: mania Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 12:55:25 EST Right on schedule the wee darlings were there- not a bounty yet but just to see the first signs about 11/2 inches tall, firm and grey. What a pleasure. Hope you have an excellent season.
From Chaffee, MO 100 mi south of st louis. good hunting! Date: Sun, 22 Mar 1998 19:13:07 -0600 From: "The Swain's" picked 66 shorts (1-2 in) today. fixed morel pizza--excellent fare!!!
Just wrote to say that we found eleven Blacks in Southern Indiana Mar. 29. This is the earliest I have found them. Good luck huntin'.
George, Rob, & Sally from Grand Traverse County, MI phoned to say they had found 12 black morels on Saturday, 3/28/98, a new personal record.
Darrell wrote on Monday, 3/30/98: Howdy, Carol and I got back from southern Illinois last nite about 10:00 PM. Was good weather after Fri nite. Very windy Friday, getting warnings of tornados through the night but none hit our area. The morels are out! Bad news, so are the hunters! I saw seven people going through one of my favorite patches and we still found 54 M. angusticeps there. The warm weather has them sprouting where there is moisture. Some areas are dry and the mushrooms that were up were rapidly drying in place. We found a total of about two lbs of angusticeps with a couple of semilibra thrown in. Lots of stuff in bloom, spring beauty, red bud starting, mayapples are out, so its looking pretty springy down south. A good rain would start them really popping.
Tuesday, 3/31/98: Darrel and friend from western Illinois near Galesburg phoned to say they had found a total of 187 M. Angusticeps today. Earliest find for either of them. They were so fresh they were almost transparent. 5 or 6 different spots on tops of hills with plenty of sun.
Kent writes: Tue, 31 Mar 1998, We have all the right conditions but no Morels yet. After some serious head scratching, best we can figure is Venus, Mars, Mercury, Earth and the Moon are not lining up correctly to provide the proper gravitation pull to sprout mushrooms ;-).
Found 6 blacks here in Dupo Il. (8 miles from St.Louis). Looks like it could be a good weekend. Tony 4/2/98.
Hello I'm TERRY, just wanted to report that i found several small greys today (4/2/98), in LASALLE,IL. They were just about an inch tall. Only picked two just to prove to the guys at work that there out. Remember this fellow shroomers,the date or week of April has nothing to do with finding morels,its wheather and the way your hunting ground plant growth looks.I'm sure I'll be eating some this weekend.WOW THIS IS EARLY ISN'T IT? THANK YOU AND HAPPY HUNTING
From Perry in Ohio.We found our first on Sunday, 3-29-98! Black Morels and Spikes... Ah! My Spring Tonic! Good Hunting!
Hello All, A good friend, Bill, and myself, (Andy), went out yesterday after work 4/2 and picked 61 black morels (morchella angusticeps) in about an hour. This is the earliest we have ever picked them in southern Mi. They sure tasted good at about 10:00 that evening.
Bob from Ligonier, PA on April 2 wrote: Subject: Tom, There up here! We got a few yesterday, late start.
We own a 160 acre woods in Lawrence County, IL and have found about 350 black morels during two trips on 4/1 and on 4/4 this week. It is a lot of fun to see my two girls "find" them. Best luck around cherry trees. - Dennis
Great news, they are really starting to pop. We found blacks today in St. Clair County, IL. Our next door county, Monroe, has been finding black and gray morels . I can't wait until we find some grays. They are my favorite ones . We ate some tonight with our dinner and they were great - can't hardly wait to make some more. - Tony
Ken from Anna, Illinois - great site, its alot of help. keep up the good work. im still waiting for my crop to arive, seems like just about the time its been warm enough, it turns off cold again. should be a good season though.
Just checking in to let you know that my wife and I found 35 greys near the St. Louis area. They were on the south part of hills in direct sunlight were May Apples were plentiful. WOW this is the earliest I have found that many grey's (April 5th). I want to also thank you for your advice on checking the southern part of hill's early in the season, that really paid off for us we scrambled up with our egg's and they were delicious. I will be checking in with you guy's again. DARREN & RITA
Jim in Western Tennessee wrote: Went out today for my first hunt of the season. About 1 mi. from my home. Only had 40 min. to hunt and never got further than 50 yds. from my car, but found 37 medium yellows. Going again tomorrow. The season has begun!
Muskegon County, MI 4/5/98...can't believe I've found a few blacks already, earliest ever. Same spot where I was finding them Memorial Day weekend last year?????? Very small, 1 1/2" or so, and so cold they were shivering.. ..Richard
Help! -- I recently moved to Huntsville, Alabama from Illinois and I'm searching for the elusive morel here. I found your websites on the internet & thought maybe one or all of you might be able to help me. Do morels grow in the Huntsville area (northern Alabama)? If so, when & where do they grow in this area? Any info or contacts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Don W.
Our thanks to Hal for this response: Morels definitely grow in northern Alabama. They are not as common as they are further north and the season can be really short if the weather heats up quickly. I was near Cullman, Al 3 weeks ago and found one single yellow morel (I was not actually looking for them, just stumbled onto one). The best time is around April 1, maybe earlier if its really warm and wet. Right now (4/10/98) I would look for them on the higher elevations of the Cumberland Plateau. Hope this helps. Hal
I'm sitting here in Washington D.C. deeply jealous of all you midwestern morel hunters. Having recently relocated here, I am estranged from my hot spots in southwestern Ohio. Could anyone tell me if I might find morels here in the Washington, DC region? Whatever you could tell me would be helpful, my window on the season is closing rapidly. Thanks, Scott Im writing in response to the article I just read on your web page from the person seeking advice for good morel areas in the DC area I am an Indiana native so I now a morel when I see one. I fond 27 yellow morels on the campus of Montgomery College on 4/4/98 in Rockville MD just 15 miles out RT 355 so they are here. Last year I found a good number of them in the great falls area of Potomac along the C&O canal
I found only 2 this morning (4/8/98) and they were starting to turn brown.I may have started to late this season. Im in south central Kansas just 5 miles northof the Okla. border. R.B.
Hello; Seeking information about morel sightings in the state of Oregon. I just recently moved here and am scouting out local burns and two year old logging oper. I would like to contact anyone with any info that they are willing to share i.e. forest fires that occured in the "97"fire season,buyers locations in the Salem/Portland area etc....Any information would be a great help as my dried stash is running out as well as my bank account!!! Jeffery If anyone can answer Jeffrey, send it to morel@ocslink.com we'll see that he gets the info.
Just got back today (April 9) from a successful morel hunt near Sparta, TN, 100 miles east of Nashville. Found several hundred blacks, almost all past their prime, several hundred semiliberas, and about 60 nice yellows. They seemed to be around a large variety of tree species, but the most common were Elms and Yellow Poplars. With all the rain we are getting, this Saturday should really be good! Hal
Chippewa Lake, Michigan I've been having some good luck finding black morels out in the woods. I've found approx. 20 of them so far (in various sizes). We had six pretty good sized ones for lunch today. This El Nino spring is really amazing. I've never found morels this early. Three weeks ahead of schedule for our neck of the woods. The first ones I found were on April 3rd...but, they were only the size of my baby fingernail! Roger Thurow found four nice ones the last week of March and whipped us all! Linda Webdude note: Roger Thurow was the National Grand Champion Morel Mushroom Hunter in 1993. He has a lovely family and home, but we think he winters in the woods waiting for the arrival of the morels!
Jim in Western Tennessee Good season here- got about 2 lbs. today (4/09/98); looks like I'll have enough to freeze!
My wife and youngest Child went out in a woods that always produces blacks on april 7th and found 37 blacks in about one and a half hours in the Valpraiso, IN area. This is the earliest I have found then in this area there and boy do thay taste good. I also check your website every day to keep me and my Morel Maniac friends posted. Dave
Ahh, Morels have come home. A dozen Morels were found in Northeastern Oklahoma yesterday (04-06-98). We found 24 Morels after work today (04-07-98) in Southeastern Kansas. Not a bad find for the season opener. We had steak and morels for supper. Quite tastee. My hunting partner found 6 more Morels than I, but he was using a shroom stick which gave him an advantage ;->. Good luck all! Kent
We are fairly new to this area and have recently seen a display at the local wildlife center with a morel mushroom model in it. People we have spoken to locally have no knowledge of morels. Is anyone out there aware of whether or not they are hunted here? We have started looking, but it would be nice to know if anyone has had any success, or what the season is here in the different regions of the mountains. Thanks to any and all who can offer any info. Robin & Jon If anyone can answer Robin & John, send it to morel@ocslink.com we'll see that they get the info.nRobin & John, Where are you located at? Several responses were willing to help, but didn't know where you were at!
My son and I found 20 Black and Half-Free Morels in Scioto County, (Southern) Ohio, on 4/4/98. They were excellent! This is pretty early for us in Southern Ohio. Good Luck! - Dave
Hello Tom, Bill and I picked 114 blacks yesterday afterwork in Southern Michigan. About half were mature, the others had some growing room but we could hear the frying pan calling. Should be picking whites soon!- Andy
The past two years, my husband & I have found 1 morel in our yard. Our neighbor has a huge cherry tree. Unfortunately, we were not familiar with morels at this time. Not that 1 shroom would have gone to far. We live south central NJ, we want to hunt these "guys" but we only had one week of warm weather and now we are back to chilly temps.Do you think we missed them or it just isn't warm enough yet? It seems people are finding them in groups. Why is it we only had one per year in our yard? Is it uncommon to find Morels in our area? Any help would be appreciated. Christine Update4/27/98 Christine is still looking for help. If you have any information let us know.
This is Kim from Fort Hill, PA. I found 22 Augusticeps on 4/8/98. This is the earliest we have ever found them here.I also found 2 morchella esculenta on the 9th. Happy hunting!
Tom, I enjoy your web site very much. I did not know that there were others in the world like me,morel lovers. Have you ever considered hunting in W.Va. we have some tatsy one here too.I would like to hear from you. - T.R.
4/12/98 Had a really great beginning of the week. We were finding bags full here in Dupo Il. We are needing rain bad though,the woods are very dry. One good rain and we will be back into finding again. - Tony
This is Darren & Rita checking in again to let you know we found 38 more in the Augusta, MO area. They were mostly yellow's and getting pretty good size. We found our's near creek beds where there was plenty of moisture and some burnt trees.This area just got some thunderstorms and today 4/14/98 was a beautiful 75 degrees. We love your web site and keep up the good work!
I live in the St.Louis area and have bagged around 100 morels from three different hunts between March 31 & April 11. Mostly blacks, with a few small whites and spikes. Definitely an early arrival for them this year!!..... MAX
4/13/98 - Hello, Just found your site surfin. Looks like a neat place. Found 45 Black Morels so far. The Half Morels are just starting also. I'm from northern Indiana, get out whenever I can. - Bruce (Bruce, Spuddy wants to contact you. Send us your email address again if interested).
We're still finding shrooms in southern Indiana. I found 107 of total of blacks, greys, and mostly (sorry I don't know the scientific name) snake heads last Fri. They are starting to dry though and we need some rain. I'm going to Michigan to camp in May (the week after Mother's Day) and I was wondering - will it be too late to find morels in Manistee National Forest? - Apr. 13- Ben
4/13/98 - My buddy Bill in Spring Valley, IL went out today and found 70 greys! They ranged in size from 2 1/2 in. to 4 1/2 in. I thought it'd be too early since I was out 2 days before and found nothing. Well good luck on your hunting.
4/13/98 - Live in Ind. but go to Galena Il. the 2nd week of May every year. Would anyone know if this is to late this year. Have always had great luck & would appreciate any help THANKS - Spuddy
Can you help me?When I was a child, one of the high lights of my spring was walking through the woods with my parents. We brought home sacks full of morels and my mother soaked and cooked them I thought I could have lived on them. A couple of years ago we moved to a very wooded area. We have a little overan acre of densely wooded ravine and some flat spaces. There is a small stream and many fallen trees. There is also great composted material on the ground. But alas, no mushrooms. I did find two the first year we were here. None since. Is there anyway to get some started from mushrooms other people find? I'd appreciate anything you can tell me. I kind of hate to risk ordering a kit. I'm not very trusting I guess. Thanks! Some people have had success throwing the trimmings and rinse water from morels they've found onto a likely area. You might get a few pointers from http://www.gaia.org/farm/mushroom/morel.html The Gary Mills mentioned is at Terry Farms in Auburn, AL where the are growing morels indoors. You might also take some mature specimens that are ready to disperse spores, crumble them, and spread them over your area. The following is from http://www.ocslink.com/~morel/131197.html : There are four or five morel growing kits available. We planted several a few years ago and are still awaiting results. I think our problem was that we planted them in August when we should have planted them in the spring. Logically, if you plant the spores in the spring you would be duplicating Mother Nature's methods and should have more success. The big difference in the type of kits currently on the market is whether they are spore based or mycelium based. The spore based has spores from morels encapsulated in a medium that provides the basic nutrients to begin the growth process. After one year the spores will produce the mycelium. The following year, the mycelium will produce morels. In the mycelium based kits the first year's growth process has already taken place and you could have morels growing the following season. And, of course, the mycelium based kits are more expensive. We plan on purchasing kits from all the suppliers this spring and hopefully will publish results in two years. Hope this helps, let us know - Tom
I and my wife found 168 black morels on 4-17-98 between Mesic and Cadilac Michigan. pretty small thought, between 1 to 2 inchs tall. this is very early for this area, but I just had to get to the woods and catch me some. They were just fantastic for supper tonight, and some left for later, WOW what luck for me. Colin and Patti
Reporting from central West Virginia, my mom and I began finding morels on Easter Sunday. This week my best friend and I have had two good trips to the woods. We are finding mostly gray ones and they are not real big yet. I can't decide which I like best hunting them or eating them. Mike in WV.
We have found over 200 greys since the beginning of April. About three weeks early here in Eastern Pa. on the foothills of Blue Mountain. Our best day was 51. The rain this week will increase our number greatly. Mike
We've been enjoying your web site for over 2 years now. Here in Central Illinois, about an hour south of you, we found 3 grays and 9 small yellows on 4/15/98, and another 21 mixed grays and small yellows on 4/17/98, all after work. Have never found morels of any sort this early before. Hoping for a great season! --Laurel & Wayne
I am curious to know if any one has responded from the eugene/springfeild area? i'm not a very knowledgable about morels yet and am very curious! hope you can help me?
I live in central Indiana - the week started a little slow (just found a few dozen) but by Wednesday several hundred morels and a few sponges were picked in one afternoon in one small patch of woods. Today was equally satisfying - morels and one fine sponge. How long can I expect this season to last? And what are the preferred methods of storage?
I live in central Indiana - the week started a little slow (just found a few dozen) but by Wednesday several hundred morels and a few sponges were picked in one afternoon in one small patch of woods. Today was equally satisfying - morels and one fine sponge. How long can I expect this season to last? And what are the preferred methods of storage? Heather Article on preserving morels at "Morels for Christmas Dinner" for tips on preserving. Season should hold as long as there is rain and cool weather. Two or three days of 80 - 85 degrees could bring the season to an abrupt end.
We've been out a few times since April 1 and found about 30 greys around KC,MO.Haven't seen any yellows yet. Love your web site - Maureen.
I am from southwest Pa, south of pittsburgh. Had rain a few days ago and the morels are everywhere. Found about 70 both black and half frees. We left a pile of poplar firewood in the woods last fall, and surprise, there were half-frees all around it, and they had never grown there before.
hello, just read your article on were to find em' verry helpful, or i will see in a few minutes if i can find any dead elms.I was wondering if the same hoplds true as to the elms in VA. ????? I'm kinda new at this so if i sound it ... anyway i was out on the first day of turkey seson today ,had three diferent gobblers within 100 yards or less, sometimes they were gobbling so loud i thought they were ganna jump out in front of me any min. of course they were hung up on the other side of a stream and two barbed fences. sometimes i think i helped write murphy's law.anyway after about three hours of that they just shut up and left that quick so i desidded to look for ,"merkles", thats what they are known as round here ,morels. had some good luck found about twenty but everyone tells me to look around poplar woods. just calling to pick you brain. any help would be appretiated. gotta go daughter calls. thank you, Tom I've never hunted in Virginia, so I'm posting your question here for an experienced Shroomer from there to reply to.
We went along the bluff road 157 caseyville to centerville ill found over 350 different morels some as large as8 inches tall 4 inches round on saturday 4/18/98 Ronny-7 Ronny jr-347
Hi Ive just moved to Michigan last year, I live in Oakland county specifically, Waterford. I'm wondering wheres a good place to look for morels, close by and far away. I dont want specific locations, but just parks close by where morels have been discovered. Any help you good give would be most appreaciated!
4/19/98 we were hunting morels along the miss. river about 60 miles south of minneapolis mn.yesterday with no luck and were wondering if there was anyone else having any luck this far north yet. paul and karen, roseville, mn.
I enjoyed your site. You have a lot of good information that will be beneficial to me and my mushroom hunting challenge. Cheryl
I love your site and just found it today, on a lark. I grew up in Iowa and used to regular find morels. Last summer I bought a place in Pike County, PA (Milford, right near the NY/NJ/PA tri-state border) that is all woods, with a stream and lots of downed oaks and hemlock. No sign of anything yet, but I dont' know where to look (in Iowa I had a usual spot that was reliable...). And don't know if I'm early or late, or how to contact any other 'shroomers in the area. Any ideas? Thanks very much. Sean. Sean go to the morel links page and then go to the NAMA -North American Mycological link. They should have a chapter within you state.
first off, great web page. i didn't know that were this many morel maniacs out there like me. my update, indianapolis, in region: found 8 grays on 4/7 -definitely the earliest that i can remember. i think that the season here will be a long one due to cool temps lately....does anyone else agree??? also, you mentioned that there are 2 types of morel kits. i bought one from gourmet mushrooms... what kind is it??? any tips???? thanks in advance. I'm not sure which type Gourmet Mushrooms sells. Yes, earliest season most can remember, and should last as long as weather holds.We'll be at Mansfield, In Mushroom Festival this weekend (April 25 & 26) just north of Brazil. Hope to see you there.
I discovered a web-site "First Sightings of the 1998 Season" I didn't notice any finds in WI. yet. Is there anyone who might know if the season has started yet in the LaCrosse or Madison area. Would appreciate any information on this, Iv'e been morel hunting for 20 years and I feel this might be a early year and can only go on weekends now, so would like to make it profitable. Thanks!
Would any one out there have information on recent sightings in South West WI. I have a feeling this will be a early year and I am only able to go out on week-ends. I am originally from La crosse, but now live in Madison. any information would be appreciated Thanks! Gail
Morels are out in Michigan! We are finding hundreds at a time. It looks to be a great Morel season up here. Come on up for our festival. Jerry - Morel Mushroom Festival, Boyne City, MI
You won't believe it but....well over 2000 and we have been leaving the
spikes. This in about 4 days hunting in central Ohio. Today found the first BIG White ones.....6-8" tall. Hundreds of greys and whites 1-3" tall. Mark in Ohio
4/20/98- (Central Ohio) We've been finding a few here and there, but today we found around 1200 grey and spike morels- all is about 5 or 6 hours. Good luck hunting -Doug
We've had 2" and 3" grey's blowing out of the ground for a week in S.E. Iowa already! Unheard of for this time of the year!(4/20/97) Luck to all.rfv
4/20/98 Just writing to let you know I heard the rumors of an early season and decided to go out this morning, my wife and I found three pounds of greys and yellows within the first 5 minutes we were there, there being our hot spot of course, We live between Beardstown and Quincy IL. Happy Hunting to all !! Sonny & Noreen
4/24/98 My name is Adam, and I have been looking every chance I get for Morels. Finally yesterday in Northwest Ohio I found 2 yellows after looking for 2 1/2 hours. So once again N.W Ohio is starting to produce. Good luck.
I live in Southwestern Ohio this is the best year that I have ever had. On 4/14/98 I found 780 & on 4/16 I found 748 morels. My total count as of 4/24/98 stands at 6234 of black, grey,yellow, and spikes. I eat alot of morels and give some to the disabled, and also sell fresh morels. I would like some drying methods. If you have in suggestions please send them to my e-mail. Troy Troy, There is an article on drying and preserving morels at http://www.ocslink.com/~morel/6497.html sounds like you're having a good year. tn
4/24/98 Only because a very nice customer of mine took me out to her private woods did I live the dream of finding a "patch" With in a 10 x20 space alongside a creek I found 55 yellow all over 4". We were near Salem, Il. Next day found 30 greys alongside railroad tracks in Peoria. Thanks to my dear customer, not all stereotypes are true when it comes to Mushroom hunters. I think you'll find your friend more the norm than the exception. Shroomers that know what they're doing aren't afriad to share their knowledge because they can always find more. They just don't usually share with strangers. Be very cautious with what you find along railroad tracks. You never know what the railroad has sprayed there to kill weeds and mushrooms soak up chemicals as easy as water. Also, most railroad track areas are privately owned. tn
4-25-98 FOUND ABOUT THIRTY YELLOWS LAST NIGHT AROUND BELLE PLAINE, IOWA. IT'S THE EARLIEST I CAN REMEMBER GETTING YELLOWS. THEORY IS EL-NINO CAUSED EVERYTHING TO MOVE UP A WEEK OR TWO. HOPE IT DOES'NT BURN OUT QUICK. EDDIE
Champaign, IL Hi, I just cant believe it! I have heard this before but I didnt think it would happen to me. I have been just about every place with no luck. Then sat. the 25th just befor the rain I mowed and in my parking just 15 feet form my truck thats taken me over 160 mi. looking for these delectable morsels stand two 8in. MORCHELLA ESCULENTA!!! It made me so mad I mowed them over! I showed my wife and she said "It Figures" By the way are baby Emily born 3-8-98 at 4 lb 15.8oz. is 8.5 lbs. now. See ya at the HUNT!!
4-25-98 this is BILL from central PA. we have been finding lots of big M. esculenta for the last week and a half. this is definately early ( about 2 weeks).finding them around elm trees on the east side of a ridge.
4-26-98 Hi, we live at the lake of the ozarks and have found a few morels (white) in mthe last week. The ground here is pretty rocky and it is hard to find a good spot. We are thinking of going to a friends farm near Redbud Ill. this week (Thursday April 30). Just need to know how the hunting is this week. Thanks for the help. Don
4-27-98 Went hiking this past weekend in North (very north) new Jersey, and hooray we found our first morels..black. Only 11 small little guys but that's okay because according to everything I have read the first time you eat them you should only eat one to see if you react. WE reacted alright, we now know what all this bru..haha is all about. Now, we are greedy, want to take off work and find these babies!!!Isn't life wonderful!!! Christine
4-27-98 I was out looking last weekend (4/25) in the Madsion WI area -- this would be about 2-3 weeks earlier than normal for this area. Found about 2 dozen small blacks, and 3 or four whites. I'm heading out again tomorrow, and will post if I have any luck... Chris
4-29-98 There were some questions about our friend in Wisconsin. Last week (4/24) I found several half-free morels in south central Wisconsin. I've also heard of a few small finds of esculenta. This comming weekend should prove to be productive with the scattered showers we will be getting. This is a great site, I hope to here from more people from Wisconsin. Good Luck All! Greg - Madison
Wed, 29 Apr 1998, I found 100 morels today in SW wisconsin. First time I've found them this season, so yes they are out in Wisconsin. Brad from Platteville.
Findings, Wed, 29 Apr 1998, In Yankton, South Dakota, along the Missouri River, morels have been found for 10 days --- early than usual -- when the lilacs bloom at Mother's Day is usually the HOT TIME for gathering -- WOW was today great 4-29-98 -- 5 lb.assorted sizes - grey and tan small to large 6" sizes Bongo and GBird
Frustrated in DC, Thu, 30 Apr 1998, Don't know what the deal is, but I started looking in all the right DC spots the first week of April, and have been back out every week since-- nothing. I mean nothing -- no blacks, no greys, no yellows, no false, no half-free, nothing! We didn't have much of a winter here -- could the lack of a cold-to-warm "snap" have had anything to do with it? Or am I just looking in the wrong places? Any other DC/MD/VA residents out there to confirm/deny my tale of woe and frustration? Fritz
FOUND SOME! Fri, 1 May 1998, My name is kip i found 5 lbs of blacks and whites barry co Mi 4 to 8 inchs Wow What A Find Awsome ! 5/01/98 Remember to leave some old ones for the next year .
VA morels, Fri, 1 May 1998, Just found about 5 lbs. of morels out on Blue Mountain near Linden, VA. Anyone got any good recipes to share with a novice? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I think I've hit the mother morel load...have been seeing copious quantities of morels every time I go turkey hunting!
first time! Sat, 2 May 1998, Cathy,hey, this is the first time me and gweedo actually found morels! (4 total mushrooms!) we weren't even sure where to go! so, we jumped in the car and headed for eastern washington. it was kinda dry out, so now i'm hoping for a little rain. i pray the season is just beginning here! 5/2/98