Gall Hunting

[Keith Ritter]

I tried in earnest to find some Goldenrod galls today for floats. It's harder when the leaves are still on all the plants. I found a few that were still green and a few that had started to turn. I walked the edges of fields and woods to find them. I will return after a few frosts and search more thoroughly. I'm going to dry these and see if it effects the color.

[Keith Ritter]

These are trimmed and ready to dry.

[jim cosgrove]

got our first frost last night keith.usually have 100s on my property.i will lest you know

[Keith Ritter]

I put the galls in dehydrator for a couple of days. The forced drying gave them a slightly lighter color. Next I'll trim them down to the final length and smooth out some of the rough spots.

[Keith Ritter]

Better results today found more and better galls. They were easier to see because the leaves are dying. These came from areas I already hunted.

[Keith Ritter]

This years first gall floats. Some of these are larger than last years. I'm still scouring my fields for more.