Why is New Hampshire Seeing So Many of These Mushrooms Everywhere?

They are popping up everywhere I go.

I was in my boss's office, looked out her window and saw these mushrooms on the grassy area next to our work driveway.  I saw them yesterday driving in too and I swear there weren't half as many as what I just saw. What are they are why are they everywhere this fall?

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New Hampshire is Seeing Mushrooms Growing Everywhere and Here's Why

According to UNH Cooperative Extension, these type of mushrooms show up when the weather is warm and rainy, usually during the seasonal changes of Spring and Fall.  (That would make sense since this past weekend, we had a ton of rain.)

The mushrooms are the fruits of the fungus beneath them.  Their job is to spread the seeds of the fungus so it lives on.  That's what nature does, right?  It's survival.

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UNH stressed the importance of not eating mushrooms that you are not 100% sure are safe.  You can take classes to identify the safe ones from the mushrooms that will kill you with the New Hampshire Mushroom Company or the NH Mycological Society.

Even if I took one of those classes, I would never trust myself enough to take wild mushrooms home to eat them.  Even UNH refers to an old saying that says that "there are old mushroom hunters and bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters."  Tells you something, doesn't it?

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People who are bold enough to try risky mushrooms have ended up in the Emergency room, so for me, I'm going to rely on the experts at Hannaford or Market Basket to package up my mushrooms neatly and cleanly so I won't barf or potentially die from Mother Nature.