Artist Matt Ritter painted this mural of morels on Barbara Radebaugh’s garage. (Submitted photo)

BY BARBARA RADEBAUGH

The first day of spring in 2026 is Friday, March 20, at 10:46 a.m., Eastern Time. Spring will be here before we know it, even if that cantankerous old groundhog says otherwise.

Spring colors pop! Whether you are a gardener or not, you must admit the colors of spring bring a renewed feeling of hope, joy, and love. It is invigorating.

What colors greet us first? The sprightly crocus pops out of the ground in bold colors of purple, golden yellow, and white, delighting us against the brown earth.

And then the daffodils emerge. Their alluring blooms are yellow, gold, and white, with orange centers that cannot be ignored. Singles, doubles, they invite a smile.

The magical jewel tones of tulips follow right along and are irresistible. Their colors favor garnets, amethysts, rubies, citrine, and the mysterious black onyx.

Our “love it and hate it” snow will melt, and the brown soil will reappear. Soon we will see shoots of every shade of green which will produce the grass we love to picnic on, walk on, and chat with friends and family on, near the patio.

And then, for husband, Randy, and me, the fragrance and the earth tones of the enigmatic morel mushrooms calls to us in early April. Charcoal-gray, ecru, yellow ochre – they blend into the earth like a toad on a rock. The piece de resistance of spring. We begin the hunt looking for black morels, then brown and yellow. They grow in forests and emerge through rocks on paths, up through dead leaves, and near creek beds and dead fruit and elm trees. They can be ½” tall and up. Late in the season many years ago, I found a 12” yellow morel. Randy swears that in his youth he saw one as big as a basketball, but to a young impressionable mind, I chuckle at that memory!

To 99% of morel hunters, the locations are secret, and so it must be for me. I cannot share! However, they are worth trudging through the woods; getting scratched by thorns from the wild growth, bending to get under fallen branches, climbing over fallen branches, and sliding into streams, until finally “there’s one!” And, then there is another, and sometimes groups of families waiting to be plucked. The roots must be left so more will follow next year.

There is a limited time to find them, about six weeks, and the conditions require perfection. Must-haves for hunting the illusive morel – the perfect amount of rain, the perfect amount of sun, the perfect soil, the perfect location, and a walking stick because walking through unwalked woods can be a challenge.

Some years we find only a few. Oh, the heartbreak. And some years we find an abundance. The joy! The cleaning. The cooking. The devouring!

Observing color and beauty remains a divine way to welcome spring while we also find a little something to satisfy our appetites.