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.
