Fall is officially upon us and its bounty beckons us to fields, wood edges and forests bursting with edible wonders! This time of year is always a mad scramble to capture the incredible amount of wild foods that are at prime before winter makes an unwelcome appearance.

Numerous fruits like crab apples, chokecherries, persimmons, paw-paws, beach plums, autumn olives (pictured left), rose hips and the last of the season’s wild grapes offer sweet treats to passersby. A myriad of nuts, from acorns and black walnuts to hazelnuts and hickory nuts are beginning to drop from trees, delighting squirrels and foragers alike.

And, a new crop of mushrooms that favor cooler nights are flushing across New England. This past week, I traveled south down to the Connecticut border to harvest the year’s first winter chanterelles, hedgehogs, beefsteaks and Lion’s Mane. While Maitake/Hen of the Woods and Cauliflower mushrooms have been slow to appear, the recent downpours should help to urge new growth.