Having lived in Washington for decades, I’ve come to expect mostly grey skies and drizzle up until the Fourth of July. Some might call it gloomy weather, but I find it comforting - perfect weather for soup, sweaters, and wool socks. As a rule, I plan for overcast weather over Memorial Day - the holiday that marks the start of summer in many other places. Over the past few years’ the chilly spring weather I’ve come to rely on has gradually vanished into an ever-expanding summer, and this year was no exception. Both Memorial Day and the week that followed were decidedly summery, with mostly sunshine and temperatures in the 70s. While the early end to the rainy season makes me worry that we’ll have a hot, dry, and smoky season to come, for the moment the mild weather has been much appreciated.

It was especially enjoyable over our weekend spent with my friends Ashley and Ingunn and their families at my parent’s cabin in the mountains. The main goal for our weekend was to track down morels in a recent nearby burn area. While we found very few fungi during our foraging expedition on Saturday, we had a lovely afternoon in the woods. Once back at the cabin, we spent part evening exploring nearby Heli’s pond, followed by a dinner of guacamole and tacos, then making Norwegian stick bread over my second campfire of the week. Sunday, we had much better luck foraging in an area our friends had visited before, and Andy and I can home with a couple pounds of morels - enough for at least a few meals!