I have established a new forum on the www.Back40Forums.com site. It is more of a daily-reality based column about how to live an authentic nature based life in today's "Virtual world" It will be different in focus than this mostly spiritual blog and more interactive as well. I won't be abandoning this roost, just adding a new outlet for my works.
Here is some of my first post. Please visit the forum regularly or sign up for the RSS feeds.
Welcome to Real Life. This forum is for folks who want to wean themselves away from the many practices of the "virtual world": the world of manipulated prices, manufactured foods and exaggerated or untrue advertising claims and work on developing an "authentic" lifestyle that will be healthier, more satisfying, and good for our planet and all beings (animal, vegetable, mineral, forests, etc.). All Fall and Winter Linda and I have been eating fresh greens from the garden and nature, root vegetables from nature, fresh raw milk, fresh eggs, all kinds of meat (wild and domestic) and even delicious homemade wines. We will talk about that more prior to next fall. I'll be giving you information on when to plant the things you'll be eating throughout the winter. But first, lets talk about the present.
We are located in the Missouri Ozarks, zone 6, so your harvest and planting time periods may fall before or after ours. Right now we are eating Chickweed, violet leaves and flowers, simlax tenderals, field garlic, dandelion leaves, redbud blossoms and clover blossoms. Topped with grated and sliced eggs from our free-range hens, doused with extra-virgin cold-pressed olive oil and herb flavored vinegars we make ourselves.
All of these plants and foods are available right now in our area, free for the picking. It usually take Linda about 15 minutes to gather the ingredients. In the photo above you will note that we added some grated carrots stored in our garden all winter. I haven't figured all the nutrition completely but I believe this is a top quality lunch, full of vitamins and minerals and abundant protein. Earlier in the spring we had cottage cheese filled tulips!
We have planted a 4 season garden so we will have plenty of fresh domestic greens, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbages and Jerusalem Artichokes all winter. But every year we find our selves eating fewer cultivated vegetables from the garden during the green season. Coming up over the next months will be watercress, poke weed, plantain, field cress, raspberries, blackberries, and on and on.
This forum won't be just about food. We will cover all kinds of ways we all can save money, help the planet, stay healthier and live longer. Linda and I have been living this life for over 30 years now so we can offer a lot of tips. One of Linda's specialty areas is medicinal herbs. She recently discovered a fantastic oil she formulated to tame the poison ivy we always get at the first of the growing season and become immune to later. If you have specific questions to ask us, or, if you have tricks and methods of your own to contribute please don't be shy, ask away.
And visit often, I will be posting several times a week as time is available. We are planning a DVD on this subject so ideas are also welcome for that. If you want to get a head start of the foraging part you'll need one or more good field guides. I recommend you visit this link to see a great selection and get free shipping:
One of my favorite books for beginners is "Edible Wild Plants of North America" by Elias & Dykeman. Please add this link to your favorites now so you won't lose track of the new forum: Real Life
