As we fall into autumn, mesmerized by the colorful leaves spinning in the breeze and sashaying their way to the ground, be watchful of nannies and witches, for this is their season too – trailside surprises that can delight, nourish and heal. There are some fruits and flowers in our New England woods and fields…
Category Archives: Wild edibles
Mmmmm! Wild Concord Grapes! Can you smell them? Their scent on the breeze, so alluring, indicates the shift in season, heralding in fall. I am clambering up an old spruce tree at a neighbor’s house, teetering on a wobbly branch, standing up on my tip toes, my arms reaching up into the vines. Fingertips like…
I have been an environmentalist since I was a teenager. And since college, I have been teaching and sharing about the natural world. I recognized that it is my life’s work. After college, when I went to work for an environmental center in New York State, I had already formed the opinion against hunters. I…
I am forever scoping out my sites; my little special spots; seeing how the seasonal flora is progressing. This April I found a new spot while scouting for a wild edibles program. It’s a rich, moist, upland site and I was overjoyed to find signs of trout lily – a spring ephemeral. When I returned…
To Trust in yourself and the Land By Arianna Samhain, Summer’s End has past the ones we tend to come in from grazing and huddle close for bodies’ warmth. What now will sustain us in the dark months ahead? Apple and Autumn Olive Grape and Cherry Beech and walnut Nettle and herbs dried by the…
What were we thinking when we introduced the Autumn Olive? Autumn Olive, Elaeagnus umbellate, of the Oleaster family, is a migrant from central Asia. Actually, within close proximity of our beloved fall fruit the apple, which is considered naturalized to the United States. That means it’s been here long enough to play nice and fit…
Our Beloved Fall Fruit: the Apple “There is no fruit, in temperate climes, so universally esteemed and so extensively cultivated, nor is there any which is so closely identified with the social habits of the human species, as the apple”. ~ Robert Hogg, British Pomology, 1851 The Apple, Malus domestica, is a member of the…
As you may have noticed we are experiencing a drought. You may be watching your garden, fretful, wanting to water all the thirsty “kids” out there in the yard. Some plants may look stressed; droopy leaves closing against the heat of the sun. But there is a plant that appears happy as a little lark.…
