Foraging 2011 Results

My first year as a forager has been something of a roller coaster ride.  From my excitement to finding baby board leaf dock to use in lasagna and it making us sick to making wild river grape juice where the burny stuff does not separate from the good stuff, the only sure fire hits were the mulberries and nettle.  Nettle is not new to me, though; however I had had no clue that mulberries were those same berries all over the place!  Both are frozen in recipe sized little baggies inside freezer bags, the nettles having been blanched first.  I also have dried nettles for drinking which I do love.  For medicine (as if food is not medicine, I know) I have dried red clover and mullein leaves for cough and mint for upset tummies, plus two big pasta jars filled with cone flower and cheap vodka for Echinacea tincture.  What I thought were elderberries are poke weed, deadly deadly poke weed.  The neighborhood apple trees’ fruit is pretty wacky looking.  I have had my nibble of wood sorrel most mornings and even the occasional blackberry or strawberry on the side of a road.  The yard’s dandelions don’t show signs of yumminess, even though I love dandelion greens, so I didn’t bother.  For some reason I have found two great pear trees in my hood but I don’t like pears.  All that is left I think is drying our small herb garden pre-frost and gathering dry mullein flower heads for candle making. 

Due to being differenetly abled, I don't drive and have chronic pain, so all my foraging was done within a few blocks of my home.  I had high hopes for a lot of things such as acorns until I realized most gatherer-hunter cultures work in groups.  Many of the things Thayer suggests in his books aren't possible for me to do alone, or practical for most people to do alone.  I'd love to eat all the different parts of cat tails but physically I cannot that work.

I think I am a little sad.  Trying to be locavore without a car or money or a strong body is really hard.