Tag Archives: connecting with nature

Wandering on the Last Day of March: Impermanence & Wild Ramps

Yesterday, a hike through one of my favorite places to be in nature revealed several gifts.

First, was a reminder of impermanence. Everything is always changing and it is best not to become attached to any objects, people, or situations.  Strive to find happiness in each moment.

Everything will return to the Earth in time.

Second was a gift of free nourishment!  We found wild ramps (Allium tricoccum), a perennial wild onion.

Patch of ramps

When you get closer, you can tell they’re ramps by the slight reddish-purple color where they meet the ground. And when you pull them, you’ll know they’re ramps by their characteristically onion smell.

Reddish-purple: yup, ramps!

I harvested several.  It’s important that we’re not greedy when wild harvesting things so that we (and other creatures who depend on them) will have these foods in the future. Always leave many more plants than were harvested (some suggest harvesting every 4th ramp).  Another idea is to just pull the ramp up from where it meets the ground — you’ll still get some of the onion, but the bulb will be left to grow again.  Or even consider being regenerative with the onions and if you take some bulbs, use a few to start a new patch elsewhere.

Ramps for me; ramps for free

Ramps have sulfur compounds that are detoxifying for your body — try some today!

Also, did anyone else participate in this year’s Earth Hour?

It’s a fun way to show support for the Earth, be reminded of how much we depend on electricity, and to unplug for awhile! The camera-flash makes it look bright, but we had fun with candles as our only light for over an hour.  I’d like to do this more often!

Candlelight night!

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Happy Ostara! Celebrate Spring!

Regardless of what you like to call it, today is the Spring Equinox in the Northern hemisphere and we have again returned to a time where day and night are equal.  This time, daylight will win and we will continue to experience more light until the summer solstice returns.

Following the wheel of the year and the turn of the seasons is one of the best ways to connect with nature and to feel a greater sense of being a part of the all that is.  I find it especially whimsical and meaningful to think of my ancestors and other nature-based cultures of the past who would have felt this day on an extremely intimate level.  This balance between night and day means that winter is officially over and that soon food will be plentiful again — this is literally a time to be thankful that life can continue on. I think we still feel a part of this as we open our windows, spend more time outdoors noticing flowers, and feel a sense of renewed energy in our lives. The return of the Spring season still represents a time of renewal, rebirth, and fertility.

Luckily, even the idea of taking time to celebrate a day like Ostara isn’t all that foreign to most of us — the concept of rebirth and fertility as symbolized by eggs and rabbits appears in other holidays around this time of year (hello, Easter!).

Whether you celebrate it now, or in a few weeks at Easter, take a few moments to think of how and why these holidays began and how intimately humans have always depended on the Earth for our survival.

Usually, Ostara is a time where I’m just starting to feel like Spring might come again. This year has been a little different and Spring is in full force.  Here are some Spring-things that I’ve noticed over the past few days…

The magnolia tree is back! I feel like I should just spend all of my time underneath this tree appreciating it while it’s in bloom. It comes and goes so quickly!

Magnolia tree 2012

Adding Spring “weeds” to my salads!

Purple dead nettle and dandelion

Blooming flowers in the yard…

Windows open and Spring cleaning!

How are you celebrating Spring?

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Plant some peas. Start a community garden.

Today is full of the color green in more ways than one. I’ve seen a lot of people sporting green shirts and I’m more than happy that I’ve spent the better part of the day engaged in some “green” activities — pea planting and helping with the foundation for a new urban permaculture garden.

I’ve been doing some garden clean-up activities this week, but today was the first day I really have dirt under my fingernails and that feels totally refreshing. There are so many possibilities for this year’s garden….it’s still very bare (with a few exceptions — some winter survivors, garlic, and weeds)!

The before picture…

Grandma has always said that peas should be planted near St. Patrick’s Day. As one of 12 kids on a farm, I’d say she must be well aware of the best time to plant peas.  So, what better day than the actual St. Patrick’s Day?

Let’s plant peas!

Lucky for me, I didn’t even have to buy peas as I saved some from last year.  This was one of my first tries at seed saving so I’ll keep my fingers crossed that this will work.

Not many but these will do!

I planted about 10 today — 2″ deep and I’m experimenting with them in a circle rather than a row to see if I can trellis them better this way.  I will plant another batch in a week or two. Hopefully that will allow for a bit larger/longer of a harvest than last year.  Last year’s peas were yum-tastic, but they only lasted a couple of meals (and I’m referring to seed peas — the snap peas seem to be around a lot longer).

Last year’s peas. THEY ARE SO CUTE! (and some green beans..)

I also found some stragglers that survived the winter to harvest today. That’s fun!

Carrot and green onion winter survivors.

Earlier in the day, I went to a neighborhood on the East side to help expand City Rising Farm into a new vacant lot across the street from the garden that they’ve established previously.

Mostly the day involved moving wood chips to the front of the lot to start sheet mulching. Many wheelbarrows and tarps full of woodchips were transported from the back of the lot to the front.

Depleted piles of wood chips

After getting a thick layer of woodchips down, two raised-beds were made from rings of old tree stumps.

Young urban farmers

Raised beds bordered with tree stumps

There was also a lesson on beneficial insects that can keep pests down — in this case, there were praying mantis eggs.

Praying mantis lesson

Overall, it was a really inspiring day — it’s great to see people of all ages working together on a project to improve a neighborhood and that will also bring fresh food into an area that wouldn’t necessarily have easy access to it.

There was also a booth set up to write letters to Senator Brown to ensure that he continues his support for small farms on the 2012 Farm Bill.  We can’t let big agribusinesses control our food supply! It’s not sustainable for communities, the environment, or our health!  Take action at the Food and Water Watch website, and also, take action by supporting your local farmers. Find them near you!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Introduction to Nourishing Herbal Infusions – Nettle

Many people have jumped on the green juice bandwagon, and for good reason — these juices are a welcome addition of vitamins, minerals, and other nourishment to our diets.  They work well at helping people to feel more energized and healthy. Unfortunately, many green juice recipes call for produce that is not always, if ever, in season in my region.

Are there other ways to get a local, sustainable, and easy punch of chlorophyll, vitamins, and minerals?

Why yes there is.  Hello lady nettle.

Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

I remember my first encounter with nettle.  It happened as a young child when I was helping my mother to weed the garden.  I innocently pulled this ‘weed’ and soon thereafter had a nasty irritation all over my hand. Ow, nettle! She certainly has evolved an excellent defense mechanism.

Luckily, that early interaction did not deter me from learning about nettle and her many benefits.

Susun Weed reports an impressive list of nourishment found in nettle:

{Note from 1/2016: As discussed in the comments, there is some debate about the actual amounts of vitamins and minerals found in these infusions and whether fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K can be assimilated in this form.  Please see the comments for a link to another analysis of vitamin & mineral content in infusions.  Either way, it is without a doubt that adding infusions to your life will increase the vitamins and minerals you’re consuming and have certainly made a difference for many people’s overall health.}

Nettle is a superior source of protein; 10 percent by weight.

Nettle is a rich storehouse of  readily-absorbable minerals, trace minerals, and micro-nutrients:

calcium (1000 mg per quart of infusion)

magnesium (300 mg per quart of infusion)

potassium (600 mg per quart of infusion)

zinc (1.5 mg per quart of infusion)

selenium (.7 mg per quart of infusion)

iron (15 mg per quart of infusion)

manganese (2.6 mg per quart of infusion)

    plus chromium, cobalt, phosphorus, copper, sulphur, silicon, and tin.

Nettle is super-charged with vitamins:

    Vitamin A (5000 IU per quart of infusion)

    Vitamin B complex, especially thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folate

Plus Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Vitamin K

All of this combines to provide an excellent source of energy and nourishment that is easy to come by and easy to use!

After experimenting with nettle infusion for about a year now, I would not turn back and I drink this infusion about 3-4 times a week.  I find that I crave the nourishment of this drink when I haven’t had it for a few days.  When I drink it, I feel as though I am drinking Earth milk (but I have not tried it on cereal!). I feel nourished and more connected with the natural world.  Plants (commonly considered weeds!) right outside my door can contribute to my health and well being.

The process starts by measuring out an ounce of dried nettles.  I’ve seen other people write about nettle infusions using just a few tablespoons of herb — this will still be a healthy drink, but won’t pack quite the same punch of minerals.  When I was beginning, I measured this ounce out with a scale, but I have since measured nettle out enough times to simply visualize an ounce of the herb in my quart jar.

Ounce of dried nettle

Next, I boil water and distract myself with teeth brushing or other before-bed chores.  When the water is ready, I pour it over the herb, seal the jar, and am off to bed.  The minimum time to leave an infusion is 4 hours, but it is fine to leave it overnight.

(Tip: pour the water over a knife placed across the jar lid to help diffuse the heat and avoid breaking jars!)

Nettle infusion ready to sit for the night

In the morning, I strain the herb and drink the resulting infusion throughout the day.  I drink it cold and straight out of the fridge, but it could also be warmed.  When I first started drinking nettle I added honey a few times to see if I preferred it that way (I didn’t, but I know that others do.  Mint is also a popular addition — just add a tablespoon to the ounce you measured out.).

Straining the infusion

What isn’t used right away can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.  If it isn’t used in that amount of time, it can be used as a hair rinse or to water houseplants.

Don’t forget to compost leftover herbs!

So where do you get this much nettle?  It’s awesome if you can harvest it somewhere local to you, but Mountain Rose Herbs is my favorite source for organic bulk herbs.  You can find their nettle HERE.

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