Summer morning walks

Man, this weather, huh? Summer has never been my favorite season, other than for the time off work, and this year has not swayed me in the slightest. Temperatures in the 90°s, coupled with ridiculous humidity, leave me feeling lazy and unproductive – two adjectives with which I don’t like being associated.

It turns out Jeter isn’t really much of a fan of the heat either. This means that getting him out for what I consider to be a “good walk” isn’t very easy. To combat our mutual seasonal lethargy, we’ve been leaving the house early in the morning for our longest walk of the day and I have to say, it’s been really lovely.

Beginning the day with a walk down the yellow brick road has brought all sorts of benefits, even beyond the health ones you might imagine. It’s a quiet walk with the only sounds coming from the birds, including the occasional woodpecker, and the hum of the thruway in the distance. During these swampy feeling days, the shade beneath the canopy of trees provides welcomed coolness along with soft, dappled light. It’s so very peaceful.

Another gift from the path I take is more tangible – freshly foraged wild food. When it’s just Jeter and I walking there are few distractions. This time of the year, in addition to watching out for animals Jeter likes to chase (deer, turkeys, squirrels, etc), and animals I prefer to avoid (snakes), I keep my eyes open for black raspberries and the only type of mushroom I can comfortably identify, golden oysters.

The black raspberries have been at their peak in the past week or so and, on some mornings, I’ve managed to gather nearly a pint of the tasty beauties. That’s not an easy feat when you’re nibbling as you go, along with sharing them with an 85 lb, fruit loving lab. All the rain we’ve received recently has also prompted a bountiful mushroom season and I’m all about foraging for and collecting fungi.

By no means am I an expert on mushrooms, so I asked a chef friend, and another restauranteur with connections to a mycologist, to confirm what I had gathered prior to eating the first beautiful bunch I harvested. Look how gorgeous these golden oysters were!

After having them identified by professionals, I trimmed them and brushed any dirt off before slicing them and giving them a quick sauté in butter. Seasoned with salt and pepper, they’re the perfect addition to softly scrambled eggs and we’ve enjoyed them for breakfast.

Like the current weather pattern, little in life lasts forever. These early morning walks with my boy, however, will remain in my memory as one of my favorite parts of summer.

How are you coping with the summer cycle of heat, humidity and rain? Where do you go to cool off?