One of the ways I am expanding my pantry this year is to explore the natural resources in our timber. Look what I found....
Wild plum and elderberry. I found these while taking a walk with the girls on Friday. Last year a friend made me elderberry syrup that I used whenever I felt a cold coming on and I was the only one in the house who didn't really ever get sick last winter. Awesome. I hope to make some syrup of our own for this winter.
The wild plum was unexpected. It is in a place that it should have been obviously blooming in the Spring and we totally missed it. How is that possible? Very excited about the plums.
And.....I have these in flower vases. My girls love to pick flowers and these little beauties are EVERYWHERE. Flowers really do make me smile and a tiny girl with both hands full of flowers for mama makes me smile bigger than I ever imagined was possible.
Here they are riding along side of my walking. Lily is teaching Holly how to "drive". Taking long walks in our back yard/woods is a wonderfully simple way to spend an evening. We packed some peaches and juice and called it a night.
I think with all the entertainment options for kids and adults alike we can easily forget the free option of a nice walk outside. We did this when we lived cityside too. And while taking these walks in the city we would meet neighbors and find fruit trees, much like we do out here in the country. Right now our neighbors are breeding cows and harvesting silage and hay.
There are hidden resources to be discovered. What are some you have found?
4 comments:
My kids and I always find fiddleheads in the spring, as well as wild raspberries all along the road we walk the dog on. And Jerusalem artichokes- they are everywhere.
Thanks for that information on Elderberry Syrup.
I wish I had it last week when I felt this cold coming on! But, as they say, better late than never!
A nice evening walk sounds good to me right now. I'll take my three kids. They are all four legged and furry, but I bet they find some great treasures too!
My wife and I forage our entire neighborhood... and beyond! We've found Mulberry trees (white and black), wineberries, sumac berries, plums from a tree at work, crab-apples from the college, and blackberries. We really pay attention to what we can eat out there! Love to go walking to see if we can find new and exciting foods!
So so true, we are so distracted by what we can pay to do, we forget what we can do without paying!
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