GRIEF

Every Year, the Blooms Remind Me

My sister is missing mushrooming season, again and forever

The lilacs are about to bloom in my backyard. That means it’s almost morel mushrooming season. (Photo by Michelle Teheux)

When the lilacs bloom, it’s mushroom season.

They aren’t quite blooming yet, but for those of us who grew up collecting morels every spring, it only takes one glance at the lilac bushes to know we’re close.

For my sister Tracey, that meant it was time to hit our dad’s land. He has 40 acres of hunting ground with a small pond and cabin, and it was her favorite place on Earth, especially during mushroom season.

Finding mushrooms isn’t easy. A novice collector is likely to walk right by a mushroom a more experienced person can spot. Tracey was very good at it, routinely filling bags with morels while others reported finding only a couple. Morels are delicious and unique and are available for such a short time that I often go years without a taste.

This is a picture of morels Tracey texted me several years ago. I assume she shot it on our dad’s hunting land. (Photo by Tracey Carlin)

Two years ago today, she died in a car accident at the age of 52 — having beaten breast cancer just a few years before.

Spring is usually the season of new life