Mushroom Wars

Since I'm on a posting streak, I must write about what's going on on my parents' ranch. It's so crazy it's almost hard to believe.

The ranch I grew up on is about 220 acres. Much of that is forested, which is the perfect place for mushrooms to grow. We've always had mushroom pickers who trespassed and stole the mushrooms. We put signs up and ran them off when we saw them, but that was about it. (I never got into mushroom picking, though now I wish I had. We went picking on Sunday for just over an hour and picked seventeen pounds. There's a mushroom buyer in Bandon six nights a week. Mushrooms were $7.50 a pound on Sunday, so we earned $127.50! We were picking lobster mushrooms, which are ready to be picked when they're just sticking up through the ground. It reminded me of an Easter egg hunt...one with plastic eggs and $5 bills inside!) =)

Anyway, in recent years, the mushroom business has attracted a different type of picker. It's good money and it seems that many of pickers these days are drug users who need quick money. At least that's the type who's trespassing. For evidence, read on...

For anyone who doesn't know, there's another family that lives on the ranch...the Nelsons. They're like a second family to us. Anyhow, back to my story. Bob Nelson has a hired hand, Scott, who helps with the cranberry bogs and other odd jobs. Scott and Bob have been picking mushrooms lately, though they were well aware that mushroom pickers were continuously coming onto the property. The other night, Scott went out into the woods and stepped on a nail. Upon closer investigation, he realized it was a nail that had been put through cardboard and set in the ground as a booby trap! He found at least thirty more! Can you believe that?! The trespassing thieves have the nerve to booby trap our property so other trespassing thieves can't get the loot. INSANE!

Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. Today, Bob found an animal trap that was covered up and set...with a mushroom inside it. It would have done serious damage to someone's arm. With all the craziness that's going on, if someone got his or her arm broken in it, they'd probably come back and sue the ranch!

So, my dad and Bob have set "game cameras" that take pictures when there's movement. They're also planning some stake-outs, I believe. (The very hard part about this is the forest is really dense, so if the pickers hear someone coming, they just drop to the ground and are impossible to see.)

I'm sure I've piqued your curiosity now, haven't I?! Don't worry, I'll be sure to give updates. Hopefully the conclusion to the story will be soon...with evidence to prosecute these guys!