Foraging

Do you do any foraging for herbs and other edibles? 
Do you forage for food, magic or some other reason?
What sorts of plants are available for the picking in your area?
What are your favorite things to forage for?

From what I have seen, I'm a bit different from many pagans in that I currently do not garden at all, instead I forage for most of the different things that I use in my craft. Some of what I forage is also used for food. There are so many different plants to forage here, and of course while the bulk my foraging is done in the warmer summer months, there are things that can be gathered all year.

During June and July, many berries are in season. Blueberries come along first, followed a bit later by blackberries. These go mostly to cooking - put into pancakes, muffins, cakes, breads, or made into jams. (Or, you know, just eaten by the fistful off the bush.) Wild blueberries are especially abundant, one of my favorite things to forage for. They're a good bit smaller than the blueberries you usually find in stores, and more flavorful. Whatever blueberries don't get baked into something, or turned into jam, are frozen for use through the year. Wild strawberries also pop up around this time, again, they are smaller and have a stronger flavor than the strawberries found in stores. However, I have been seeing fewer of these in recent years, so they've become more of something to have a small snack of when found, rather than used in any other way. Wild grapes are in that same category.

The state flower of New Hampshire is the purple lilac. They tend to bloom in late April, early May... they are everywhere, and they're also edible. Dandelions are another common flower to forage for. They grow all through the summer months, and both the greens and flowers can be cooked and eaten. Lavender and clover are other flowers I forage for, both also edible. Along with being edible, they can be turned into teas or tinctures, or used in other ways - dried lavender for sachets, or incense for example.

Pine trees are everywhere, and I gather their needles, roots, bark, and resin. Pine needle tea has an interesting flavor (best with a bit of honey, in my opinion), is loaded with vitamin C, and can be used as a decongestant, among other things. (And should not be taken by pregnant women.) Oaks provide acorns, which need to be boiled a few times before eaten. They're somewhat similar in flavor to chestnuts, and you can also grind them into an acorn meal for various uses.

Fiddleheads (young ferns still curled up) are a popular foraging item in the spring - great when boiled, then sauteed in butter and garlic. Other plants I forage for include mugwort, cattail shoots, teaberries, milkweed, juniper, burdock, curled dock, wild carrot, and stinging nettles. There's just so many different things you can find around here if you look, and knowing where to get the various things I need has become a vital part of my craft.

(*Standard warning when it comes to foraging or using medicinal herbs - know what you're doing! Be careful that you know for sure what you're harvesting, there's a lot of good stuff out there, but there's also a lot of harmful plants as well... and sometimes they can look very similar. When using herbs for medicine, know the proper dose, know how it will interact with any medicines you take, or any health problems you have, etc. Foraging and herbalism can both be great, but do your homework first!)

I'm back!

First, I want to apologize for going on such a long (and basically unannounced) break from writing. There had been a lot going on, both good and bad, and unfortunately a lot of my writing projects were put on hold. I kept meaning to come back sooner (I took pictures on the Spring Equinox to share... that long ago already?), but sometimes it's hard to get back into good habits, I guess.

Still, as the weeks have gone by, I've tucked away ideas, knowing that eventually I wanted to get back to writing. I also know I left a few projects sitting unfinished here.

I do want to catch up a little here first, though... There was Ostara, of course. Simple ritual, just sitting under an old maple watching the sun come up. Same as last year, actually. Now as I'd written about, we had a very warm winter - and that became a very hot spring. The day after spring was hot enough to go down to the beach. I'd never been so early in the season, there were tons of little baby shrimp (we think they were anyway) all along the shore. That was followed by an evening fire under the stars.

After that equinox week, the weather went back to normal for the most part... which means a drop from the nice 85F down to 45F. Yeah.

Beltane rolled around, and the lilac bushes were in full bloom. I didn't get to make a cream pie this year, which is the usual Beltane treat, but there was some fresh, whole milk, and oatcakes. Just something small to mark the occasion. Simple rituals are sometimes some of the nicest.

Post 100

Wow, that sort of crept up on me... I know I haven't been posting much lately, I do need to start setting aside more time for writing. At any rate, these last few weeks...

Have been pretty warm. We've gotten a little snow here and there, but not much, and the dead grass can still be seen in many places. Last year at this time we were buried in feet of snow - it came right up to my waist in some places (granted, I am a bit short, but still!). It's been nice, easier to get out for walks, get out into the woods... but, at the same time, it doesn't always feel much like mid-winter. Well, more than when I lived in Washington I guess! At this time of year my daffodils would be starting to sprout...

Imbolc was very quiet this year. My Imbolc celebration always takes place on the night of the 1st, since the 2nd is my birthday and, of course, that usually takes up the day. I had plans, but they ended up set aside... I just went out and spent a bit of time star gazing. Nothing elaborate, but it seemed right anyway.
As for my birthday, that was good. Saw family and friends (including a friend I hadn't seen in years). Spent a lot of time with my friends over the weekend, which was nice as I don't get to see them too often these days.

Aside from that, it's been a slow couple of weeks. I've come to expect that... there's always a bit of a lull between the excitement of Yule and the coming of the warmer spring months, which does make sense, after all.

Happy Imbolc

Happy Imbolc (or Lammas) everyone!

Winter Wednesday

Winter Wednesday

I keep meaning to make a little time to sit down and get some real writing done, but it seems like there are so many things to be done and so little time to do them all in...

The last couple days have been spent doing a deep clean and organization of the kitchen. Westya's shrine has been kept dark while all of this chaos is going on. At the end of this (tomorrow afternoon, I'm hoping) I have a new candle to dedicate for Her.

I've also been trying to take advantage of this mild weather we've been having, getting out before the snow sets in. Well... assuming it does to any considerable degree. Guess I'm still having flash backs to last year, foot after foot just piling up. This year is apparently going to be warmer, and not so bad - and so far, that's been true. I believe the news said every day in December was above average, except for two or three days. Still, mid to late January through February is when we usually see our cold and snow...

Snow Moon

The first full moon of the year, and although it is the Snow Moon... there's no snow yet. Nature follows her own rules, of course. (Rules that apparently include a blizzard at Samhain.)

It's actually fairly mild for a January night - only 24F. Chilly, yes, but still warm enough to be out enjoying the moonlight without discomfort.

Winter Wednesday

I know it's not exactly the most wintery picture. No snow, no ice... it's hardly been cold at all this last week. However, people here know it's only a matter of time. 

New Year's Dinner

In my family, we have a tradition of celebrating the first day of the year with a big dinner of Japanese foods. When I was younger my Grandmother (Mama) made tons more food, but then, she was younger too! Now there's still a ton of food mind you, and every year we say how there will be less next year... but there never is.

I spent much of yesterday and some of this morning helping Mama get all the food ready. Always part learning (or remembering) how to make some of the more traditional dishes, and sometimes a bit of the history behind the foods, but also part hearing the history of the family. Often many of the same stories come up, but sometimes a new story will be told. Or more details added to a story that was never fully told.

Sometimes the stories are happy, fun... sometimes they're sad. How Mama's mother died before she turned three. Or how her good friend died of cancer - how hard she fought, and how Mama promised she'd take them both back to Japan if she would get better. How the doctors only gave her one month, but how she held on for two and tried so hard to get better, to live.

Sometimes the stories are more recent, the times of my childhood, or my Father's - other times the stories go back a few generations. My Grandfather and his brother know a good bit about their family history. Odd little things, such as how one of our relatives was on the Titanic, died on it. Or how one woman would sit on the porch drinking beer out of a teacup, so she'd still look lady-like.

I do my best to remember it all, to write down what I remember - both food and memories - so I can continue to pass these memories down... while adding in some new stories of my own.

Happy New Year

Happy 2012 folks, hope it's a great and fulfilling year!