Foraging Into Fall

Today, the snow has returned for a brief visit.  Daily temperatures have been in the 50's during the past few weeks, so the snow will be gone shortly.  In fact, the snow did not even stick to the ground.  There is still plenty to be done before the snow stays for the long winter months.

I started to ponder today.  What would the natives in this area be harvesting?  Most of the plants have begun to die back.  Berry season has passed.  There are a few apples remaining on the trees, but the only native apples in this area were crabapples.  The nuts are gone from the trees.  The People here would have gathered, and stored, what they needed for plant-based food sources, except those gathered from evergreen trees and such.

I imagine they would have turned to hunting, like we do in modern Maine.  Many animal-based foods are still plentiful ... deer, rabbits, squirrel, moose, migratory birds, raccoon, porcupine, and turkey are all still active.

In modern times, we also have access to some non-native plants that are producing.  A week or so ago, I found and identified (with some help from a Facebook group and local botanist) nearly a dozen Autumn Olive bushes no more than a mile from home.  They are loaded with berries, ripe for picking. 

And, there are a number of non-native apple species that still cling to the fruit high in their branches.

I, like my ancestors before me, have set aside my gathering basket for a bow in search of  meat.  I'll admit that I am not a very successful hunter.  In the five years or so that I have been hunting, I have been blessed with only two turkeys.  One was taken this fall.  However, I do still have time to be in the woods before expanded archery (deer) season finishes for the year.

After I shot the turkey, I took her to the tagging station.  When I pulled up, there was a moose in the process of being skinned.  I quipped that my bird would not fill the freezer nearly as well as the moose.  It brought a chuckle.  Afterwards, I asked what happened to the moose hides.  I figured that most people kept them, but guessed that it didn't hurt to ask.  "I throw them in the garbage ... people don't want them and leather brokers don't either." was the reply.

My jaw nearly hit the floor.  I believe that using as much of the animal is the proper way to honor the animal for the gift it has given.  Of course, thanking them directly is important, too.  I told the man that I would love to get my hands on one, if one were available.  My phone rang just shy of a week later.

I do not have a whole lot of free time.  Modern life keeps my family on the run a good deal of time.  But, I have managed to find enough time over the last two weekends to scrape the flesh and fat off of the hide, and to de-hair most of the other side.  The hide, which is lovely if a little smelly, is very nearly ready for tanning, in spite of the fact that I spent a good chunk of the day, today, in the snow/rain that fell, while the wind howled through the trees.  As I worked, it occurred to me that the rawhide would make several very nice drums.

Regardless, I consider myself very fortunate to have been given such abundance and so many opportunities to learn and grow.  I am that much closer to my moose boots.  Actually, I have orders for  three pairs for my family.  Of course, standing here on the cusp of actually making the boots, I realize that my journey has only just begun.

The Tattered Remains Of Who We Once Were

Recently, I have been pondering the ways that we, as civilized people, destroy our environment, ourselves, and all of the things around us that offer support, sustenance, nurturing, and life.  Perhaps this is a result of our recent whirlwind trip to Pennsylvania then through Kentucky, and North Carolina only to turn around and head back home.

Over the years, I have researched  the native people in my area.  I am often quite frustrated by the lack of concrete information about the true nature of their lives before white settlers disrupted their way of life, their villages, and the bloodlines.  Anecdotally, few of the natives who still claim their heritage have a real understanding of the meaning behind their culture and the relationship with the land that now supports us all.  Their wisdom is dying through the loss of elders and the lack of interest in the younger generations of people to continue to remember the teachings passed down through the millennia.  Thankfully, there are a few folks, like Kerry Hardy (author of "Notes On A Lost Flute:  A Field Guide To The Wabanaki") trying to preserve some of the information.  Unfortunately, each author has a specific focus and saves on the tiniest, shards of the whole story.

Mr. Kerry has done a admirable job in trying to fill in some of the holes, but his focus was on discovering the lay of the infrastructure we have now as compared with that in the 1600s (pre-contact).  He uncovers a lot of "trivia" about their diet, their migration patterns, and their interaction with the environment.  By the way, I term it trivia, because in a single book, it would be impossible to fill in all of the details about every aspect of native life in those times.  As I said, he does a fantastic job and what he covers would create the foundation for an interesting museum about the people who lives here before the arrival of European settlers.

In a similar vein, Tom Wessels (author of "Reading The Forested Landscape: A Natural History Of New England") speaks about the landscape in the New England both before and after the arrival of white settlers.  His particular bent is reading the landscape to understand what has been.  His book is an extremely interesting read, as is Mr. Kerry's, but again there are mere fragments of the knowledge I feel is critical for us.  The knowledge to change our way of interacting on the land to being in relationship with the land. 

We can not continue to exploit her forevermore without overstaying our welcome.  She simply does not have unlimited resources and neither can she provide when we destroy all of the natural landscape to build our homes and workplaces.  As you may have gathered from all of this, I feel strongly about this.

Lately, I have been thinking specifically about the seasons.  I have tried to imagine what it might be like for the inhabitants of our area to live here.  In particular, I wonder about their sources of food.  This should come as no surprise given that our new book, "Browsing Nature's Aisles" (which is available to purchase over on the sidebar), has hit the market and we have just returned from speaking at the Mother Earth News Fair. 

I have been thinking over the passing of the seasons that we have experienced through our learning and growing ... starting with the sugaring, the spring greens, the tender young shoots, the berries, the nuts, and the wild game that surrounds us.  It occurred to me that this same cycle has been repeating for countless generations of people.  Initially, I was saddened by our loss of connection to nature and her cycle of wonder.  That was until I realized that we, modern day, work-a-day people still live with this.  Of course, our reliance on oil and our massive distribution infrastructure do a good job hiding it. 

Many people still go out and spend time in the wood, even just to camp.  They feel the primal pull to connect with Mother Nature.  We are, regardless of what some may think, animals that have developed relying on her.  We have simply learned how to bend her to our will, even to her own detriment.  We pick berries, we gather nuts, we hunt!  Our bodies, in spite of our best efforts, still react to the nature world ... our disconnection makes us sick (nature deficit disorder), our reconnection heals us (forest bathing).

Perhaps all of this was why, a few years ago, I felt the pull to take up hunting (bow only still).  This year, I have added migratory waterfowl to the list of potential sources of meat.  But in all of this, I have been more careful to observe not only the habits of the prey I seek, but the way the environment changes around us, for the better or the worse.  I have tried to become more aware of not only the plant and animal species with which I share the planet, but the interacts they each have with the Earth and the other creatures who share it.

One day, someday, I hope to have the opportunity to learn first hand from those who remain that remember how to live with the earth.  I wish to share it with those who will listen and take note of the wisdom.  Maybe I already have begun, with all we have learned about foraging and the released of "Browsing Nature's Aisles" and I did not recognize it.  I still have much to learn.  I know that the Universe, as it has done each time I have asked, will provide a suitable teacher (two legged, four legged, or otherwise) at the optimal time and place.

Water make the river
River wash the mountain
Fire make the sunlight
Turn the world around
Heart is of the river
Body is the mountain
Spirit is the sunlight
Turn the world around
We are of the spirit
Truly of the spirit
Only can the spirit
Turn the world around

-Harry Belafonte, from an African Story





Be well, kind, and tread lightly wherever you are.

How It All Started - Part 3 - Bowhunting, Survival Skills Class, and Maple Syrup

So, we skip forward a couple of years to the last few.  While plant identification has had a few instances of practical application, it has been mostly an academic exercise.  In my opinion, knowledge gained without use is pretty useless.

Over the last few years, I have taken up a few more practiced skills.  We started sugaring.  It is incredible!  The first year, we tapped only two trees and were rewarded with a few quarts of our own maple syrup.  The following year, we tapped ten trees and harvested about two and a half gallons of syurp.  This year we will prbably only tap ten again, but more on that later.

Later that same year, I started bownhunting.  First, let me explain that I had never hunted in my life.  I still do not rifle hunt.  I figure that if I am going to hunt, I should require myself to earn the privilege of harvesting an animal.  This is why I chose to hunt with only a bow...I was in the military and feel perfectly capable of taking aim and hitting a deer with a rifle at 300 yards, but that can't happen with a bow.  My effective range with a bow is a mere 30 yards.  I have had some incredible encounters in spite of my limited experience.

We then stumbled upon a perfect opportunity...homeschool survival class.  The class, "The Earth Is Our Home", is taught by some folks who believe that it is possible to blend primitive and modern skills and tools in an environmentally responsible manner.  The class is primarily for the kids, but the parents are encouraged to participate...I think I might get more out of each class than they do.  We have learned how to build fires in any conditions from wood gathered at the time...the first day was a snowy wet day.  We have since learned wood carving, cordage making, and how to build shelter.  We have foraged plants and cooked meals with those plants.  We've also built a wigwam frame for our permanent meeting spot.

Big Little Sister at the Wigwam

Hold on...we are almost through the introduction!