in my nature notebook...

Browsing in a favourite cooking magazine today on my screen porch I came across a picture of a mushroom I had seen very recently on a walk.  The caption said they were morels--a delicacy prized by gourmands, especially in French cuisine. I had read about them many times. I was astounded. I had noticed the strange mushrooms, but not with enough care to draw them, and now, sadly, I can't remember where I saw them. I immediately drew them in my nature notebook...sure that I will never again see one and not know what it is, but disappointed that I missed the chance of paying close attention and naming their location so I can check for them next year. Wikipedia told me their various names:

 dryland fish, hickory chickens,merkels sponge mushroom. Genus Morchella is derived from morchel, an old German word for mushroom, while morel itself is derived from the Latinmaurus meaning brown.