MUSHROOMING -- Let's see, April's cool rainy weather has evolved to sunshine and warming.

It's prime time for mushrooming!

Hot spots, so to speak, for finding morel mushrooms are areas that have burned in the past few years.  But Ken Vanden Heuvel snapped the photo above on Tuesday in an unburned lowland forest area noting it's the first time he's seen a morel mushroom along a local trail he was hiking.  You never know.

Be advised that there are rules, both ethical and legal, governing mushroom picking.

The Dishman Hills Natural Area, for instance, is not open to mushrooming or removing any of the area's natural resources.  The urban nature preserve is protected as a conservancy for all to observe, study and enjoy. Removing the natural resources takes the experience away from everyone.

The Umatilla National Forest allows anyone to pick mushrooms. However, a permit is required if you transport more than one gallon in Oregon or more than five gallons in Washington.

Expert mushroomers who want to maintain the resource they enjoy year after year recommend carrying your mushrooms as you harvest them in a net bag to allow residual spores to spread for future mushroom production.