Fireweed
Fireweed is a pioneer. Its tiny seeds ride the wind like parachutes and begin new life where fate carries them. Even in clear-cuts, roadsides and burns, fireweed plants itself and rises up – stately, steadfast and strong. It rarely stands solo. Fireweed builds a thriving plant community through spreading seeds and lateral root networks. In summer, rose to violet-colored flowers bring immeasurable beauty to stark landscapes. They are so papery thin that they appear luminescent. I blush sometimes when I take a close look. They remind me of the tender blaze of love, or a sweet encounter that...
Read MoreIt’s Berry Season
At last it has arrived – the moment we wait and wait for. Summer – warm and liberating. And nothing epitomizes summer like berries. First jewels of salmonberry lighting up the forest, red huckleberry making my lips pucker, the intoxicating smell of ripe strawberries, savoring the crunchy sweetness of thimbleberries, blackberries dripping off the vine. Berry stained fingers and berry stained lips. This is the gift of summer – and I celebrate its juiciness. I am busy packing away this sweetness. I freeze strawberries and raspberries to put in smoothies and oatmeal. Bake blackberry pies...
Read MoreWild Rose Flower
Queen of flowers, thorned protectress, balm of my heart. Rose has a mythic presence. She is associated with gods and saints – a symbol of beauty, love, protection, and grace. Wherever she grows – from China, to the Middle East to Europe to the Americas – stories are intimately entwined in human history. She is an old soul after all – she has been here for 35-million years and has seen us through the rise and fall of many civilizations. Her influence has reigned in art, in poetry, in song, in religious ceremony since ancient times, and her powerful presence continues to reign today. In this...
Read MoreFir, Hemlock and Spruce Tips
It is May and I am bedazzled by the lime-green tips emerging from evergreen trees. I have been waiting patiently. First the tiny brown buds, tight fists at the tips of branches. Slowly they swell, and then papery brown coating falls away in wind or rain, revealing tender nubs of baby needles. Now they are everywhere – waving on the tips of branches like bejeweled dancers. My mouth waters as I imagine the bounty they offer – spruce lemonade, Douglas fir sorbet or hemlock tip sun tea – all so refreshing on a warm spring day. Evergreen conifer trees define our Pacific Northwest landscape. They...
Read MoreSalmonberry and Thimbleberry Sprouts
As we walk the nature trail in early May we notice new shoots of salmonberry and thimbleberry. During a week of warm weather they have grown a foot and are perfect to eat. I pinch a pink shoot from the base of a salmonberry bush and easily peel back the outer skin. Mmmm, tart and refreshing with a rosy aftertaste. I give my 2-year old daughter some and she smiles as she devours it. “More,” she says, “more sprouts!” In an instant they become a favorite trailside snack. Tender shoots, tart & sweet, spring treat Other Names: tca’a’xiwap’ut, Quileute. Bear candy (bears relish these first...
Read MoreDandelion
Common weed, nutritious food, powerful medicine. In springtime dandelion’s sunny flowering faces appear all at once. And they are EVERYWHERE — pioneers infiltrating cracks in sidewalks, grassy lawns, well-tended gardens, abandoned city lots, mountain meadows. As an herbalist and wild foods forager, I have come to view them as an amazing gift instead of a weedy curse. They have taught me that sometimes our most powerful remedies are common, the ones growing under our feet. Other Names: spupi’hLiqWadi (Twana), lion’s tooth, blow ball, Taraxacum officinale Identifying Dandelion: For such...
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