In Logoysk district, a family collected 58 kilograms of chanterelles in the forest in one trip. And this is not a record

Mushroom Team and Expert Advice

Sviatlana's main companions during the picking season are her husband and his sister, and the guide is her mother-in-law. It is in her homeland, in the forests of Logoysk region, that avid mushroom pickers gather incredible harvests.

«We mainly look for chanterelles, aspen mushrooms (red-capped scaber stalk), we freeze them for the winter, — says Sviatlana. — We pick honey mushrooms until the first days of January and dry them on the stove».

Besides the mushrooms familiar to everyone, they also found rare ones: the edible chicken-of-the-woods mushroom that grows on trees, white chanterelle, and the Red Book-listed black chanterelle.

Павялічыць

The family has been setting collection records for six years, although Sviatlana's love for silent hunting was awakened by her parents in childhood when they took her into the forest.

Павялічыць

According to her, the best advisors in mushroom matters are the old-timers of the villages, who know every glade and bush since childhood. They will tell you where to look and when it's best to go into the forest.

Павялічыць

Tractor Instead of a Basket

This season, during one of their outings, they managed to collect 58 kilograms of chanterelles. Last year, the family of mushroom pickers set a personal record, collecting 72 kilograms in five hours.

They say they hardly use baskets: they take one bucket, and stuff bags into their pockets. The collected mushrooms are left in an agreed-upon place, after which relatives pick everything up with a walk-behind tractor and trailer.

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Wild Animals and Lost Mushroom Pickers: Dangers of the Forest

Bears and moose are found in the forests of Logoysk district. Sviatlana says she often sees their fresh tracks.

Павялічыць

«It's scary every time. But we always take pipes, whistles with us, turn on the radio or sing, — she says. — The animal hears a person and leaves».

Mushroom pickers dress according to all rules: they choose clothes with elastic bands, tuck their pant legs into their socks, cover their heads with scarves or hats, and use repellents against ticks and mosquitoes.

«It's especially dangerous in an aspen forest — in cloudy weather, it becomes dark like night there, and the leaves rustle so loudly that it's difficult to orient oneself. In such cases, we always quickly head home», — says the woman.

Павялічыць

They also happened to get lost. Once, her husband got lost and couldn't find his way for three hours. And last year, her mother-in-law wandered for half a day: Lidziya Ramanauna went mushroom picking at lunchtime and disappeared. Relatives searched for her by car — shouting, whistling, honking, and then called the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES).

Rescuers combed the forest, but due to hills and ravines, the sound of the siren carried poorly. Then Sviatlana downloaded a forest district map and asked her mother-in-law to find a quarter pole. They used it to pinpoint her location. Now the family only goes into the forest with charged phones and always remembers landmarks.

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