Chicken of the Woods mushroom growing early this year!

Someone gifted us with this large chicken of the woods mushroom that he found a couple of days ago. The chicken of the woods mushroom at my house grow in July, so either this particular area of land grows chicken of the woods earlier than in my neck of the woods; or this mushroom is growing earlier this year like everything else. I have noticed that many of flowers and fruit trees around the yard are growing weeks to months earlier compared to previous years.

With the chicken of the woods mushroom, I cleaned it thoroughly by soaking in salt water and brushing off any debris. I let the mushroom dry on a towel. Then used my fingers to pull apart the mushroom like in "chicken" strips. In a pan, I put oil, water, and garlic salt with the mushroom and cooked on medium then low for an hour. With the cooked mushroom, I served it with rice.