WriterByNature.com

April 7, 2008 1:57 pm

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…)

February 29, 2008 6:32 am

“Please sir, may I have more,” I tease as Carl pours each person on the tour a bit of maple sap.

The Hudson Highlands Nature Museum staff refer to themselves as edutainers. Carl, who led this maple syrup production tour from the tree to the table, has mastered the art of educating and entertaining while hiking.

We move and stop intermittently. It’s the way I like to hike when foraging or attracting wildlife. This museum really makes the natural world accessible to the general public.

This is the first winter of my life that there has been virtually no snow; the first significant accumulation had fallen just two days before this hike. But people who tap sugar maple trees in this area have already begun the process. In a normal winter, this would be the time to start.

It’s a short season - six weeks at most. Even with 21st Century technology, it’s a labor-intensive process. The result is worth the effort. If we happen to get a spring snow storm, I’ll be able to enjoy maple syrup on snow.

A few people my age, their children and grandchildren follow along, snapping icicles off branches, negotiating a snow-covered bridge and searching for dried sugar maple leaves. Carl delights in their discoveries. I marvel at how many details I didn’t know about this process. (more…)

February 7, 2008 6:10 am

The wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is an escaped cultivated parsnip, according to every forager I consulted. The important thing to note is that the leaves can irritate your skin. The root is the desired edible part of the plant.

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January 30, 2008 6:29 pm

Barry Keegan told me that, prior to the Civil War, people kept their toothbrushes in cups of charcoal powder. Barry suggested I give his recipe for survival toothpaste a try. It works.

Here’s the recipe: (more…)

January 14, 2008 7:18 am

I’ve experimented with acorns on and off for years. But it was Rose Barlow of Prodigal Gardens who enlightened me on how to create a ground meat effect using acorns.

I used frozen acorns in my recipe. Next season I will put Rose’s acorn roasting technique to the test. (more…)

December 29, 2007 5:46 am

I was reading my survival skill class notes. I haven’t looked at these in a number of years.

I’m impressed with the complete explanations and careful drawings. I just modified my pine needle tea recipe. The needles nearer the trunk are higher in Vitamin C than needles on outer branches.  (more…)

December 17, 2007 6:11 am

I was surprised and delighted to hear from a fellow forager, who has streamlined black walnut harvesting. I’m waiting for the ice storms to pass, so I can go outdoors and try it out.

I profoundly grateful that Rose Barlow of Prodigal Gardens, took the time to visit my site and make a valuable contribution. Of course, I wanted to learn more about her so I paid her a visit.  (more…)

November 27, 2007 6:11 am

It took me several hours to crack one cup’s worth of black walnuts. If you crack your own walnuts, be sure to hand pick through the nut meat at least twice. I rely on my fingertips rather than my eyes to ensure no microscopic nut shells find their way into my food.

The rest of the recipe is pretty straightforward. Now I know why black walnuts are so expensive. They are labor intensive.

I must be getting better at using key words. This recipe is taken from a source entitled As Easy As Pie, by Susan G. Purdy. (more…)

November 19, 2007 6:51 am

I thought a quick trip to the store on Sunday would avoid the holiday crunch as we approach Thursday. I was wrong.

As I negotiated my way past the laden shopping carts, floor displays and product samples to purchase non-food items, I stopped next to a woman reading the contents label on a package of stuffing mix.

We looked at each other and giggled. How hard is it to soak stale bread? We both agreed, but she tossed the $2.50 package into her cart, believing she was saving time.

I maneuvered my mostly empty cart past the day-old bread shelf. For 99-cents you could get a sliced Italian bread and for 75-cents you could get six thinly sliced bagels. Really, how hard is it to soak day-old bread? (more…)

November 5, 2007 9:02 pm

The Calvatia gigantea I found last August was a very large puffball. But the ones I found yesterday deserve the name “giant puffball.”

I probably should have stuck with what I knew and made giant puffball pizza, but I just had to experiment. (more…)