Neat Ferns

Behold! 
The Cinnamon Fern!

I get excited when I see these guys as they are large and really stand out in the spring. So far in the past 28 years I've only found 3 places on our land where they come up. They like to grow near a wet area. Last year was so dry that I don't recall them coming up near our creek bottom. Or I missed this plant?

I just love how a fern comes up in a tight curl.
 

Close up of the same fern curl as above.
I've heard of people who look for these in the forest and collect the not so hairy curls to eat. They call them Fiddleheads.

I have not tried it as I'm still in the learning stage about fern plants. Plus there are not enough of these in my forest to harvest and eat.

Close up of the leaves inside the curling head of the fern. Ferns fascinate me as they have such symmetry to their leaves!

More Cinnamon Ferns found at
Duck Egg County Park
on 4 24

I found these on a south facing hillside
high above the water
but in a moist area.

The brown 'stuff' is supposed to 
be spores according to 
information on these ferns.

Another fern that I am very familiar with is the Maidenhair Fern. They are my favorite fern in the forest.

This group emerging from the forest floor 
looks like they are literally

dancing.

Maidenhair Fern, come up red
and turn green.
They spread out like a beautiful spiral
after they mature.

A mature Maidenhair Fern:

There are other ferns, but I don't know enough about them 

--> Yet <-- 

to put a name to them. But I do enjoy finding their beautiful curls in the spring and admire them through out the year.

Even in winter they add a bit of interest to the forest
Photo from the winter of 2011:

Chores are done! Yard is mowed!
And it look like I can go out again today and explore.

Who knows what we will find?

Take a walk on the Wild side

Do dee do dee do do do...
Say hey babe, take a walk on the wild side!

Between the huge flush of Chicken of the Woods and the Wild Apples, it has been a booming wild week. 
I took some C.O.W. to Olive along with some wild apple jelly and got an apple pie from a wild apple tree in return.

There are two places that have wild grapes that are easy to get to. One is on the side of the gravel road and one is a huge grape vine that has been growing up the metal section of an old hay rack that leans up against our busted up garage. [See? the junk pile serves a purpose!]

The shots below are from the grape vine alongside the road. It is intertwined with a sugar maple and so the colors right now are very bright. See those little grapes?

I thought I'd taste some this year and they are sweet! So.
Since I'd made apple jelly from wild apples, I thought I'd see how hard it was to make grape jelly from tiny grapes!

Apparently Concord Grapes are very expensive these days [I used to have access to concords when a relative grew some on their farm]. They are the best grapes to use for jelly.

These are free! It takes a bit more time to pick enough, but I thought I'd give it a go.

 

I washed the grape bunches and then started picking them over and inspecting them. The process is tedious but with the help from music and ...

a bit of help from my friends...

[you know I can't help but bring my Lego Minifigures into the kitchen for help!]

This is what the process looks like.

From my first picking, I got nearly 2 1/2 cups of juice without putting the skins and seeds through a food mill. I had to go out and get some more but with 5 cups of juice, I can make a batch of Wild Grape Jelly.

While I was cooking up the grapes, I was also working on some not wild food. I'd purchased about 4 lbs of carrots at the Farmers Market. They were super sweet and delicious. I needed to get some frozen and vacuum sealed for winter veggies.

Farmer Bob came to the rescue and helped haul some of the larger carrots. It seems that they were too large for his little trailer! Fortunately, Bob seems to never get upset over difficult situations.

I need to be more like Bob.

I got a huge pot of them cut up and blanched.

I ended up with 7 servings of carrots frozen and ready to eat this winter and two half pints of dehydrated carrots mixed with onions, green beans, and tomatoes. Those half pints are what I dump into a broth I'll make out of the mushrooms or a beef broth for making soup this fall and winter.

I figure if I spend the day prepping food for future use, it will give me more time to explore and love the outdoors.

I can take more time to Walk on the Wild Side.

Forest Bathing

Well I've been back at the hiking trails with great enthusiasm. Of course my buddy Bill asked if we could hike together after he has taken a year off from hiking.
He needed to get some health issues taken care of that he had been trying to ignore. But one needs to breath in order to continue to exercise like he wishes to do. 

We hiked a nice easy trail called Big Valley. It goes from Highway 131 to Big Valley Road and is 2.5 miles long. The trail is pretty well maintained and has very gentle hills. It was warm and muggy when we started out with misty wet stuff coming down, but we went anyway.

We walked and talked. It was nice to catch up on things with Bill. We didn't solve the world's problems, but we just enjoyed the trail and the conversation.

The skies stayed gloomy and overcast and we actually hoped for some rainfall that didn't happen other than a light mist. The colors are changing and the grasses are drying up quickly in this drought.

We talked about the predictions for winter. Would we get a lot of snow and cold? I'd be okay with that.

At the end of the Big Valley Trail, we walked across the road to the trail head for Hoot Owl Trail and admired the rocks and amazing trees.

We stood for a bit and just admired the wonders of the area we live in.

This is the kind of activity that refreshes me and keeps me sane. 

Forest Bathing [National Geographic Article on it]or Shinrin-Yoku is a thing. Did you know that? I didn't. You can even book a session with someone to experience Forest Bathing or Forest Immersion Therapy.
A person can become a certified Forest Therapy Guide. Did you know that? Nope. I didn't either. 

Um.
Thank you, I'll just hike with a pal or Charlie.

I always feel calm and relaxed after a walk in the woods.