WriterByNature.com

May 13, 2008 2:52 pm

Sedges have edges
Rushes are round
Grasses are hollow right up from the ground.

There are exceptions to this basic rule. But poetry is a valuable learning tool in nature study.

I am blessed with an amazing range of nature educators. Some are dedicated to teaching. Others do not even know they are teachers, but their impact rivals that of Barry Keegan.

I taught 12-year-old Caleb how to harvest wild garlic. He responded with that well-known poem by an unknown poet, before bounding off to share his new discovery with his parents.

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May 10, 2008 7:15 pm

The more it rains, the larger the harvest. Today’s COMA walk yielded everything that last week’s walk produced, and several more treats.

The wild garlic and ramps are huge. So are the black morels, half-free morels, yellow morels, gray morels and tulip morels.

I was the host for this week’s walk, taking COMA members to one of my favorite trails. Now that the word is out about the abundant morel harvest, I expect this hike will become a popular new COMA walk.

My harvest basket also features oyster mushrooms, dryad’s saddles and tree ears.

No one went home empty-handed. I have enough to mushrooms for several days worth of main dishes. Does it get any better than this?

May 8, 2008 8:38 am

I’m not sure why the tree ear (Auricularia auricula) is considered edible and the black jelly roll (Exidia glandulosa) pictured below, is typically not.

But if COMA mentors Dianna Smith or Gary Lincoff say a mushroom is edible. I trust them.

I had to study this photo and compare it with the tree ear photos online to see the difference.

I added these to a home-made vegetable soup. The texture was fine and the flavor barely detectable.

From my point of view, there is a big difference between a mushroom that is boring, but edible and a mushroom that is toxic.

I finally found a tree ear to photograph:

I’m not sure I’d want to sit down to a plate full of Exidia glandulosa or Auricularia auricula, for that matter. But these jelly fungi are a pleasing addition to a slow-cooked soup.

May 4, 2008 6:40 pm

After an unusually hot, dry April, May has brought needed rain. Today’s COMA hike brought a harvest of morels that exceeded all of last year’s morel finds.

Typically the black morel fruits first, followed by the half-free morel (Morchella species) and the yellow morel arrives later. But everything is fruiting and blooming at the same time in the wild and in the garden.

Add ramps and wild garlic - and the meal is the best ever.

May 2, 2008 6:48 pm

I have found Dryad’s Saddle (Polyporus squamosus) before, but this one is much bigger. It’s a delicious edible, but it kills the host tree.

April 2008 was unusually warm and dry, but once it started raining, the mushrooms are beginning to fruit.

Now I’ll get to see just how much I learned at Mushroom U.

May 1, 2008 8:14 am

I’m walking more. Yesterday I visited a bicycle shop. The only way to send a message to the oil companies is to vote with our pocketbooks.

This madness of suspending the gasoline tax for a few weeks has only strengthened my resolve to find another way to reach my destination. I am blessed, because I also have access to public transportation.

But the most empowering thing that has happened to me recently is the discovery that I can actually walk to my favorite hiking trail. The trail head is closer than the hikers’ parking lot.

I cringe when I think of how long I have been driving to a place within walking distance.

I might never have made that discovery if gasoline prices had not risen beyond my willingness to pay.

April 28, 2008 5:58 pm

If the Canada goose had not jumped off her nest, I might have stepped on her. I love finding nests, but not when I create a disturbance.

I was delighted to discover Cornell’s Nestcam, which lets me watch the activities of several species of birds, revealing images I might not otherwise get a chance to see.

April 23, 2008 8:36 am

If you look at the images on the top of this page, you’ll see photos of trout lily, ramps (wild leeks), and wild garlic, which thrive in the woods at this time of year.

One advantage gardening has over foraging is that I don’t have to worry about disturbing poison ivy. I got out to Harmony Farm early enough yesterday morning to harvest enough chickweed for a week’s worth of salads and side dishes.

The chickweed has engulfed the spinach that had been planted last autumn. Any farmer will tell you that a weed is a plant growing where you don’t want it to grow. No one ever told me weeds were not tasty and nutritious. I trimmed the tops of the chickweed with a scissors, but before I got down to uprooting them, my mentor showed up with more important work for me. (more…)

7:08 am

When I tasted Joe Brandt’s Japanese knotweed salad, I couldn’t wait to try it for myself. Joe is that rare combination of skill and artistry in the field and in the kitchen. Try this first, then read on to see what I did for a variation on this salad.

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April 22, 2008 6:00 am

The price of gasoline is beyond excessive. So, I have a new personal rule: if it’s within four miles, I walk. I have discovered a hiking trail less than a mile from my home. I can walk to the post office, two food stores, three bus stops and a train stop in less than a half hour.

I even passed two car rental agencies in my trek on foot. The bus and train can get me to other hiking trails, a major city and even an airport, should I need it. If I can carry a backpack with camping gear, I can carry groceries in the same pack. (more…)