What began as a lead on one really cool housing idea, led to the discovery of one of the most environmentally-aware websites I have seen in a long time.
A visit to Patti Moreno at GardenGirlTV is time well spent. Patti, a self described, generation xer, “gets it.” Even better, she puts the principles of small scale sustainable agriculture to work in Boston, Massachusetts and documents the results in words and video. (more…)
Tags: Birds, Mammals, Nature Curriculum, Wild Food Recipes
This is one of those skills that has challenged me for years. I can’t make a stone tool Figure-4 set, but thanks to the adaptations of Barry Keegan and those who mentored him, I can make a functional Figure-4.
A bent lever stick, supported by a forked stick, will hold the weight of the rock. By setting bait on a thin cardboard or birch bark tray and securing that tray to the bait stick makes it easier to position, without prematurely collapsing the entire trap.
This is an adaptation of a recipe I found in a cook booklet, Old Pioneer Recipes, published by Bear Wallow Books. I am deeply grateful to this writer and historian.
The original recipe called for two squirrels, onion, butter, flour and Tabasco sauce. My recipe includes more vegetables and three sources of wild meat.
If you look carefully at the center of the video you can see the squirrel who climbed a honey locust tree to enjoy a black walnut. It took just under four minutes to clean the hull, penetrate the shell and enjoy the walnut. I wish I could work that fast.
The original footage is gorgeous, but to upload this image, I had to compress my avi file. Ah, technology.
Tags: Foraging, Mammals, Survival, Video
It’s odd to see maple trees with leaves just beginning to turn color in mid November. That grey blur is a squirrel enjoying a black walnut.
It has been unusually warm for several months, so the snow covered leaves are both beautiful and disturbing.When I was growing up, farmers used to say that the day of the month when the first snow falls is a predictor of the number of blizzards to expect. Like any folk wisdom, some years it worked out that way.
Ten blizzards would add up to a lot of snow, but if it relieved the drought, provided great skiing and ensured a bumper crop of morels, I would welcome a real winter.
Tags: Mammals
This recipe is one of my favorites.
Follow my acorn preparation instructions, then add venison. Venison is farmed in many places, so even if you don’t hunt, this is a treat. (more…)
Tags: Foraging, Mammals, Wild Food Recipes
I love watching flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) on a warm summer night.
They really should be called gliding squirrels, because what allows them to be airborne is a loose flap of skin called the PATAGIUM. (more…)
Tags: Mammals, Word Play, Writing Life
It’s a whole lot of fun blending in, rather than scaring away the wildlife.
I was amazed that this deer raised up on his hind legs to reach the food he wanted.
I’d been using the video feature of my Canon PowerShot A710IS, pushing the limits of the battery. That may explain the jerky quality to the footage.
I almost fell over, when the deer started walking toward me. That’s when I ran out of memory - of course.
But still, for a moment, I was blended in, part of the natural world around me. I live for those moments and wish they were universally important.
When I set out earlier today, my goal was to find:
I decided to challenge myself a bit, so today’s hike was in Minnewaska State Park, about 35 miles north of my usual haunts. I did not find the black trumpets, but I did find the good red russulas and oysters. I also did not find the wineberries, but I did find a few ripe blackberries in addition to the blueberries and huckleberries.
My big surprise was the tiny milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) pods I found.
Tags: Foraging, Fungi, Hiking, Mammals, Wild Food Recipes
Enjoying nature is in the little things, like this insect (I think it’s a firefly) on a laurel node. Dawn and dusk are the best times for hiking; that’s when I see the most wildlife activity. (more…)
