While some mushroom pickers return from the forest with a couple of russulas and stories that "everything has already been picked before us," others barely have time to find empty baskets. In the Zhitkovichi district of Gomel region, judging by the photos, the mushroom season has turned out very successful. White mushrooms here are gathered by the dozens and hundreds, and for some lucky ones the count has already reached thousands. Our photographer ventured into the local woods, met with mushroom pickers, and saw what they do with the whole harvest.

One of the heroes of the photo report is Nikolai Nemchenya from the village of Khilchitsi. Over the past few days, he says, he has collected more than a thousand white mushrooms. And this is not an attempt to make money from selling forest gifts: Nikolai is quite well-off, and mushroom hunting for him is primarily a way to distract himself from everyday chores and take a walk in the woods.

He goes mushroom hunting in an SUV. Judging by the results, Nikolai knows his spots well. However, gathering that many mushrooms is only half the job. At home, the rich harvest still needs to be sorted and cleaned. The whole family gets involved in this process.

And Nikolai is far from the only one who got lucky with the harvest. Another mushroom picker, Oleg from the village of Bolshoy Maleshev, said that just two days earlier he collected 194 porcini mushrooms in these spots. In the photos, he is just sorting and cleaning another batch near his minibus.

However, one does not necessarily have to go into the forest alone to get mushrooms. At the market in Turov, you can already meet sellers with baskets of fresh harvest. White mushrooms, aspen boletes, and other mushrooms sit alongside vegetables and berries. For some, forest finds become a commodity; for others, they remain simply a pleasant excuse to spend a day outdoors.

Even for those who aren’t planning to put anything in their basket, there’s plenty to see in the woods right now. Sturdy porcini hide among the grass and fallen leaves, while nearby bright fly agarics stand out. Of course, the latter are best left for photographs.