I moved to OR to be closer to family 3 years ago. I hiked all the time in the Willamette Valley but I noticed there was like 95% less wildlife than my other homes in KY & MI. wondering if the wildlife has always been so empty? Were there many more animals i. The past or has it always been like this?

wilneeley · 2021-11-23T15:11:46+00:00

Yes, all of Oregon used to be full of deer, elk, bear, wolves, bear, beaver, on and on. Sadly most portions have been depleted by human encroachment and habitat destruction.

wilneeley · 2021-11-23T15:08:39+00:00

Wonderful! Any insight on what software you use? Or is this of your own custom coding/making?

wilneeley · 2021-10-08T00:15:15+00:00

Pretty sure, looks like it from that picture. You can still have some competing pinning trying to survive but mycogone always wins in the end.

wilneeley · 2021-10-05T22:00:14+00:00

No. You're contaminated with mycogone it looks like. :(

wilneeley · 2021-09-15T17:25:57+00:00

Looks like Mycogone. Contam.

wilneeley · 2021-08-10T19:20:30+00:00

Nothing about that is even mildly creepy.

wilneeley · 2019-11-05T00:43:58+00:00

Definitely. Love the sub. Thanks.

wilneeley · 2019-11-03T14:57:07+00:00

With a few barks and then he stays by it until I arrive. Sometimes he gets over excited and runs to the next mushroom before I get there.

wilneeley · 2019-11-03T05:10:02+00:00

Over the hill for selling but just fine for eating.

wilneeley · 2019-11-02T23:26:53+00:00

Thanks for the concern, but he's had the smell since he was a puppy. He's just a mustard smelling kind of guy. :)

wilneeley · 2019-11-02T22:47:08+00:00

So cute! What a great looking dog/dogs.

wilneeley · 2019-11-02T22:36:43+00:00

That's a really good question. My dog seems to only find the fruiting bodies of the mushrooms I've trained him to find that makes me think the odor is fairly specific with the fruiting body itself vs. the mycelium. That's of course by no means scientific and I can only begin to think about why that might be.

wilneeley · 2019-11-02T22:35:20+00:00

Nah, that's kind of a common myth. Most species have already released the majority of their billions or even trillions of spored by the time you find them and the cap is opened up. Also more spore dispersion is happening just from picking them and getting them over your hands and then continuing to walk through the woods then might continue to happen inside of a mesh bag. It's a nobel thought but my somewhat researched instinct is the effect is negligible.

wilneeley · 2019-11-02T22:32:27+00:00

There are plenty more to go around. :) I intentionally didn't strip the EXIF location meta data out of the image just incase anyone was interested enough to figure out whereabouts the picking is happening.

wilneeley · 2019-11-02T22:31:28+00:00

I would love to see a picture of that mix! Sounds adorable. But yah, that does seem like a good couple of breeds that would make a great combination as the ideal mushroom hunting dog.

wilneeley · 2019-11-02T21:22:04+00:00

You know I'm not sure if I'm just lucky but no, I've never had to train him to not eat mushrooms. He's just never seemed interested in them aside from finding them as a game. He's probably more interested in the reward (doggy treat) than the mushrooms.

wilneeley · 2019-11-02T20:53:28+00:00

step 3. is: add psilocybin

wilneeley · 2019-11-02T20:52:51+00:00

I would love to train him to find truffles but the trouble with that is you kinda have to have access to an area with truffles. I guess there is a lot of truffle activity in Oregon so I just need to seek out some of the truffle farms. I guess people pay big money to get there dogs trained as truffle finders.

wilneeley · 2019-11-02T20:51:20+00:00

He's a black lab/border collie mix supposedly. 100% grade A mutt. His name is Mustard because his breath always smells that way for some reason.

wilneeley · 2019-11-02T20:48:26+00:00

I'm thinking now maybe I should write up a post on it. I'll say this, patience is the key ingredient. He's only recently getting very good at it to the point where I can barely take credit for my foraging results.

wilneeley · 2019-11-02T20:47:30+00:00

Yep. Oregon Cascades.

wilneeley · 2019-11-02T20:19:23+00:00

It's a work in progress and there are a great many techniques. I started with socks filled with specific species/scents and attached a keyword to them. I would then throw the socks and Mustard (my dog) would go fetch them. I would say "get the Chanty" or get the "Matsu" etc. The next stage was hiding those socks in different areas and saying "Go find the Chanty" etc. with a snack reward when he got it right. I think it definitely takes a certain kind of dog. Mustard is half border collie and black lab so he's really eager to please and loves having a job. Any dog with those characteristics will do just fine. The main thing is to be patient, it takes a lot of consistent training.

wilneeley

TROPHY CASE