Day two of razor clamming was ridiculously better than day one. From pouring rain, 30mph winds and one clam to 5mph, barely any rain, and 30 clams between two people. Now, after shower, sleep and a frantic day of catch-up work, we (unironically this time) eat like kings.
#PNW #WildFoods #SoDirty #SoTired #SmellLikeClams #BurnMyClothes

#Morel cluster for #FotoMontag #PhotoMonday #Mushrooms #Foraging #WildFoods #Photography

嫩乎乎的蔥韭呀！ #plants #spring #winter #wildfoods

Grinding the fruit off some Manzanita berries I harvested this last Summer. Maybe some hot Manzanita cider later on.
#wildfoods

Cantharellus cibarius Chanterelle #Chanterelle #mushroom #fungi #fungiforay #wildfoods #foraging #fungiofmastodon #fungiphotography #Perthshire #Scotland

Ca. Bay Laurel (Umbellularia Californica)
Bay nuts are one of my favorite local wild forage foods. Contrary to popular mythology, which some may find disappointing, and tea totalers may appreciate, complete chemical analysis shows, ca bay nuts Do Not contain any caffeine like stimulant chemical constituents. They do smell kind of like coffee beans when roasted.
Delicious, they need to be roasted to make them edible, I prefer them dark roasted like cacao or espresso beans. Once roasted you can eat them plain or grind them up and mix with a little honey for a chocolate like sweet. Remove fleshy outer husk, dry them, and roasted them in their shells. Like other nuts they keep for a long time. These are from last year. Last year was a bumper crop for bay nuts in my area. This year is kind of sparse so I leave them for critters.
#CaliforniaBayLaurel
#UmbellulariaCalifornica
#WildFoods #foraging

Hi! #introduction. I'm a bit of a homesteader, growing a lot of organic veggies with low-carbon farming practices, also #foraging for #wildfoods. Like the song goes, "I save my seeds and eat the weeds and feed the leftovers to your mom." Also do art, photography and crafts from natural and upcycled materials.

For my trade, I'm lucky enough to have #environmentalactivism as my job. Visit http://nofrackedgasinmass.com to see how we're taking on newly proposed and existing fossil fuel infrastructure.

The berries on the California Toyon bush are ripening. Also called by the colonizers Christmas Berry, the fruit is ripening earlier than usual according to nature's calendar not ours. Look forward to Toyon cider or maybe Toyon wine.
#wildfoods
#nativeplants

Condensed version of my wildcrafting talk.

Wildcrafting, another name for foraging, is gathering materials usually herbs, plants or fungi that are grown naturally instead of cultivated to use for food, medicine or arts and crafts. When wildcrafting is done without care or knowledge, it can cause harm to our environment as well as ourselves.
It's always preferable to forage on your own property. But many can't so here are some important things to remember when foraging:

Stay in common land areas away from polluted water, polluted ground or heavy air pollution. Ditches by roadside can have spilled oil, asphalt runoff, litter and garbage, herbicides and also bio-hazards like used toilet paper, etc. Also watch for agricultural runoff, both animal and plant agriculture usually use high levels of synthetic fertilizer and other contaminants that you don’t want in your foraging.

Whether you believe in private property or not, do not wildcraft on private land without owner’s permission… you don’t want to be chased away at gunpoint or a guard dog.

Stay away from railroad tracks which are regularly sprayed with herbicide and are also private property and dangerous to be close to.

When far out in the wild, away from human settlements, watch for wild animals that might be protecting their territory, their dens, young or recent kills. Be aware that you might be taking food from these animals in their spaces.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to learn the plants in your area. Get a good book and make sure it is an academic publication on plant identification that includes safety information regarding each plant. It is best to have more than one publication and cross reference them so that if you discover contradictory information.

Many plants used for medicine have different parts that are used, where some parts may be toxic, and need certain ways of preparing them safely. Be especially aware of look-alike plants that can be easily mistaken. There are quite a few plants and fungi that are very dangerous to ingest, ranging from immediate poisoning to slow long term organ damage. There are many look-alike plants that can be deadly while others are non-toxic or edible, and others that are not necessarily toxic but are still unusable. Get a good field guide with colour photos to take along with you and always keep with your wildcrafting gear.

Never take more than 1/3 of any given plant but usually much less than that. Leave plenty behind for other foragers both animal and human.
Never cause permanent damage to plants or trees such as carelessly ripping out roots or pulling resin off bark, ripping some of the bark off in the process. The bark protects the tree from insects and disease. Never rake the forest floor to gather mushrooms. This is a terrible practice that damages the delicate ecosystems of the fungus and the surrounding area. Plus it is just downright disrespectful.

Lastly, take a moment to give thanks in whatever way is meaningful to you but never leave anything behind except maybe a splash of water for the plants.
#foraging #wildfoods #wildmedicine #plants #mushrooms #wildcrafting