M Ljin

I think any social interaction that is positive can help with staying away from electronics. I’m trying to get to know more neighbors and townspeople for various reasons including that one.

It might be that group activities, like going on local nature walks, could let you meet new people. I have met some good friends and acquaintances that way. I know there is one foraging teacher active in your area whose book I have and like: https://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/tour-calendar

It is difficult as a human being but more and more I think we (human beings) are having to go out on our own, into the unknown, probing at places that we don’t remember existing; or in some cases literally places no one has gone before. It seems like a transition period we are going through and difficulty is a given. But I always find it helpful to trust in the unknown as it often seems to reveal bends in the road I never imagined were there.

I hope you find a good friend; even then the work is still hard, the road is long, the way is beautiful and terrifying. It is fine to grieve what we have come to, and it is fine to not do everything all at once and to be content with gradual progress. The wisdom we need for this positive change is slow to gather, it is hard to come by, hard to master; it will not be found in a day or even a year. But there are small places to rest, small breaks between the clouds, sun midst pouring rain, and they help us to continue.

I think of the body as a microcosm within Nature, and the plants in the landscape as a macrocosm of what we are meant to eat. Every plant is medicine to the land and medicine to the body, and I have learned to trust more and more that what Nature chooses to grow is often good for us.

That doesn’t seem to lend to a simple diet, as there is so much variety of food around. But it seems to lend to an ecologically and nutritionally balanced one. So I eat whatever wild and local foods are around, and dairy, olive oil and seeds for calories—at least cooking for myself (with others it’s a slightly different story). I mostly cook whatever wild foods are around and supplement with the cultivated if necessary. And eat fruit like peaches and apples as caloric staples in season, taking a cautious hint from the bears (but not quite as voraciously!)

One story illustrates this better. I had tried to get grains to grow for many years and someone had chopped them down each year while they were growing, such that I never got a harvest. Then last winter I became sick and realized grains made me feel worse, for days after. I had a dream to the effect that I didn’t need grains, and immediately made the connection to the rabbit’s gnawing and stopped eating them (much to the horror and chagrin of people around me), but I began feeling better emotionally and physically. It is a bit of a mystical thing, but I believe the earth is much more intelligent than we are and we could do well to trust her instead of trying to control and replace. Our land is not very inclined towards producing grains, but rather to nuts, mushrooms, greens, and root vegetables. These grow without any human effort, naturally and abundantly, and they are healthy and nutritionally rich.

I think that my ancestors back thousands of years ago probably ate lots of acorns and nettles as staple foods and those are two foods that I love and find to be very nourishing for me. I could imagine eating only those, and there was a famous Tibetan Buddhist practitioner, Milarepa, who was said to have eaten only nettles (which I could believe).

I’m not sure about convincing, but I agree with you and think that after a while their experiences will show them how to do things. People will get very fixated on things and ignore or reject any advice to the contrary. If you tell them what you think without being annoying or appearing as if you are trying to convince them, eventually they might see this reflected in their experience and remember your advice.

I know I could say that I can rarely get seeds to grow at all that are not local, most of the time. If one or two grow out of a packet of fifty, it’s cause for celebration. I still try now and then and sometimes there’s some success. But it always takes a few generations for them to adapt.

I think they are the longest/strongest while green but the fall harvest is easier, less stings and no retting and a lot less weight in water to carry back home which is why I have moved in that direction. I also read that it was the more ancient way to harvest wood nettles. It’s interesting that in Asia, ramie harvests are of the green plants, and even happen twice a year, allowing a second, finer harvest. I have a feeling that wild wood nettle plants might not withstand such an intensive harvest, but it’s possible that in certain areas they could tolerate it (sunnier, moist, fertile clearings).

I like the idea of being crepuscular. I feel like doing the most in the morning and evening and then resting, eating, and doing nothing midday and early afternoon. If I didn’t eat dinner I would probably wake up early every morning and get more done, then eat and nap midday. They say humans are diurnal but are we really?

I have a friend who is afraid to compost because of the bear presence in the area. Having the food scraps (or bear vomit) strewn all over the yard is not the desired outcome of composting and I get why this is the case. However I am also thinking of ideas.

My first idea is to get a metal trash bin and, almost exactly like the willow feeder concept as I understand it, let the food scraps moulder in the trash bin, in the garage, with sawdust and leaf litter in a balanced way. Maybe even sprinkle some stropharia or blewit spawn in? And at the end of it all, compost! Hopefully. I think that a true willow feeder is not anywhere close to being part of the question, yet… I get the impression they want something low effort/tending and high reward so having living animals like in vermicomposting might not be a good fit.

I am fortunate not to have this problem but for those of you who do, what do you do? How do you deal with this issue of bears getting into composting food scraps?

I have been growing Cache Valley currant tomatoes this year from EFN. They have done well! The ones I have tasted are a little hard and sour but I am probably not giving them enough time to ripen. When I let them get as red as they can be they are good and flavorful. They are always firm, so probably good for CSA, farm stand, etc. that might get left out for a little while.

Unfortunately I just went to check on them to find they had been chopped down! (Rabbit?)

Peaches are ripening up the road by a neighbor’s house and she is kind enough to share them even though I never asked! My own peaches are in their third year and I’m unsure when they will fruit but letting them take their time growing. The new pits will go to more trees. This year and last are the first that peaches have had good crops in this valley, but it seems that the climate is more suited to them now and they are quite happy here.

What is your “Breaking news” story?

Drama industry indeed.

Let’s sum up the headlines from today, what’s going on in the world. Leaves are turning and falling, acorns are dropping; the day is mostly sunny; peaches are ripening and falling to the ground; the neighbor’s grieving bull is looking a little perkier than the other day, mugwort is flowering in droves along the roadside (smells heavenly), worms are churning earth, squirrels and chipmunks are engaged in frantic activity; hickories are dropping in plenty; I am tired and it makes sense; scientists have attempted to uncover a new use of creeping thistle (broth) and found that it was a stronger liver medicine than is prudent for food, unless perhaps it is consumed incrementally; autumn olives just starting, not good enough to eat yet; chufa is fattening and hardening down by the river, and the foxtail grass is ripening seeds; parsnips are ready to harvest. Scientists also announce the potential for a horchata industry based around the Tuber Bulrush (Bolboschoenus spp.)

Woodlice have been churning earth, honey mushrooms have been growing up from dark river earth, I lost a piece of metal I’ve been working on and have been looking for it. Milkweed is getting yellow leaves, and iris is looking good to harvest in the future for basketry; the rivers are drier than I’ve ever seen (unfortunately) and if there is any rain it will probably be a drizzle (haven’t looked at the Official Forecast either). The rivers are cool but not overly cold.

There is plenty to be “read about” that no one will ever realize or think about when they’re doomscrolling. We only have so much space in our minds and what we fill that space with becomes our reality. Taking a break from the news is a choice—it is a choice to focus on the world around us rather than the “world” in the screen or the piece of paper.

Ryan M Miller wrote:I haven't found any sizeable patch of stinging nettle this year, but I have found a large patch of a related plant called wood nettle (Laportea canadensis) that can be used like stinging nettle. I'm in the process of collecting the plant stalks right now before I ret and scutch them. I plan on sharing some photographs as I continue processing the fibers from the plant stalks.

If you collect them shortly after the frost they are very easy and only require a little peeling and rubbing to turn into excellent fiber. They are one of my favorite fiber plants. They are abundant here too and I gathered more than enough to make a shirt last year (but no shirt yet to show!)