Autumn Harvest Time

This time of year....ah the bounty of it all. The apples are still awaiting some of us to glean the last ones still hanging from the branches.

I´ve always been a fan of gathering local wild edibles....learned that from the joy of wandering the fields with my little friends when I was a child. That was back in the day when parents didn´t worry so much and let their kids roam free unsupervised.

I remember there was a patch of wild strawberries growing under the hydro towers that loomed above our favourite bike paths.

In my neck of the woods up here in Northern Ontario, Canada, we have wild apples hiding in plain sight. The issue being that folks are so accustomed to shopping for their food in the stores, that they don´t really grasp the concept of gleaning food that grows freely near their homes. I can honestly say that I have never seen any of my neighbours walking down the street with any food that they have collected in the wild. Now, this is not to say that they don´t do this beyond my observation, but in this semi-modern suburb, it just isn´t a trendy thing to be seen doing.

The things I have collected in the wild up here have included things like apples, and pears and raspberries. I have also dabbled in tasting little nibbles of spruce tips, as well as dandelion greens and even mulberry leaves.

Foraging for mushrooms in our local forest would be quite a hoot, because our location seems to sponsor a healthy bunch of mushroom varieties. I just am extra cautious and have never eaten any mushrooms I have found or photographed, simply because I don´t know enough about foraging yet to be able to confidently know whether  a local mushroom is safe for eating or not. Better to be safe than sorry eh!

If you are interested in learning more about foraging from someone who actually lives a life closer to local plant life, you may wish to check out the youtube videos of Rob Greenfield from the USA. He is an activist who seems to thrive on foraging and making do with what he can find, instead of going to stores like most folks do. Here is the link to his youtube channel  https://www.youtube.com/@RobGreenfield

Note that Rob Greenfield has made some pretty wild personal choices in his quest to live according to his beliefs. I am not here to endorse all of his choices, but merely to suggest that you may find his foraging videos to be helpful if you wish to learn more about living off the land.

Well, that is all for now friends. May God bless you with the eyes to see the bounty that is all around you....and the courage to harvest some of it. 

Peace,

Carla.

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Yay! I recognized a Native Herbal plant growing in my own City

I´ve been an amateur noob forager for years....always interested in learning how to find local edibles in the natural environment of my home town in Northern Ontario, Canada.     I´ve watched too many youtube videos and finally had a breakthrough this week. I was able to find and identify a local plant that I had seen described as Mullein. The leaves and flowers of this plant can be dried and made into a medicinal tea. It has been described as helpful for many areas of human health. Note that this post is not intended as medical advice. All medical advice should be obtained from a licensed medical professional. 

The leafy parts you can see better in the photo below.

I had recently purchased tea bags of the Mullein Leaf to make tea at home to do a cleanse of the lungs. I do find the tea to be calming and has a similar taste and feel as nettle tea.

Rob Greenfield is a radical forager from the USA that I must admit I have learned a lot from. He has learned so much about what is readily available in his American environment to nibble on and assist him in living a healthy natural lifestyle.

It is that bond that nature lovers have with the earth that has always drawn in my respect. Itś not that we worship the earth. No....we worship God who created the earth and all that there is. There is a big difference between worshipping God and worshipping what He has made.

Anyway, there is a wonderful earthiness that I appreciate when I can make a connection between what I can find and identify in my environment and what I choose to eat. In this case, of finding wild Mullein... I have not yet chosen to harvest what I found, as I am using the tea bags that I purchased on line. But it is a big step for me to be able to even name something in the wild that I did not previously know and that does not come up in casual conversation.

So friends, have you ever found something in the wild that you were able to identify and actually consume? Did it work out well? Did you feel ok after consuming it? Or better yet, did that plant make you feel healthier? Calmer? Or more connected to the natural world?

Do tell :)

Blessings from Northern Ontario,  Canada.

Carla

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