Monday, April 26, 2010

April spring encounters

  
The first foraging trip we took together was in the fall. Casey knew of a spot by the Susquehanna that I had never been to. We entered into the autumn beauty and walked along the path surrounded by paw paw trees. These native trees to our area are special for many reasons, the most selfish reason is eating their fruit! Paw paws taste in between a mango and a banana so all you regional local minded people, transition with these great native fruit. Since they are only out for a few weeks it was a lot of fun to go harvest together. Another great use of paw paw is their soft wood for making bow drill spindles. We also found hickory nuts, spicebush berries, and the first spotting of pine sap for both casey and me. This spring I was so excited to observe the early stages of the paw paw in these amazing flowers that remind me of orchids, tough yet so precise and unique, and they even have a sweet smell. ahhh paw paw. 





Since Casey is now famed for his morel foraging I've been lucky enough to spend a lot of time with him hunting for these great wild fungi. This was one of my first sightings under the may apples. I was super excited, especially for eating them later that night.







eli finds her first ever and is pumped! 






Casey's harvest of poke and morels in his hand crafted 
tulip poplar bag
Wild Garlic, Milkweed shoots, and Evening Primrose Roots 


This was the day we planted 250 native trees in the meadow by the Little Beaver Creek in Strasburg, part of the Chesapeake Bay Water Restoration project for my dad's land.